A Place Called Home
by Kamari Turen
Summary: After six years of separation, Jen, Jonesy, Nikki, Caitlin, Wyatt, and Jude return home for a chance to catch up. But nothing lasts forever and the six soon discover they aren't the only ones who've changed. Takes place after the series finale.
1. Prologue Six Years Gone

**Prologue- Six Years Gone**

There were once six teens who were the best of friends and never dreamed they'd be separated. Jen Masterson, Nikki Wong, Jonesy Garcia, Wyatt Williams, and Jude Lizowski had been best friends since kindergarten and when Caitlin Cooke came into their lives they knew the group was complete. For years the six hung out and worked at the Galleria Mall, taking each day as a new adventure. Together they navigated the complex maze that is adolescence, they loved, they lost, and ultimately they grew as friends and as people. But all good things come to an end, time marches ever forward and the six were forced to accept that nothing lasts forever.

Six years have passed since Nikki moved to Nunavut with her parents. In that time, Nikki had achieved her dream of becoming a travel writer and seen a large part of the world. True to her word she had never forgotten her five best friends and had stayed in contact with them, especially Jonesy, no matter where she went. After graduating, Jonesy had headed off to collage, where he was a star hockey player. With Nikki's consent he had dated several other girls, but none of them came anywhere close to replacing Nikki. As for the the other four, Jen had also attended collage and now ran a snowboard shop. Wyatt had achieved success in the music business, as well as rekindled the flame with his old crush, Marlowe. Caitlin had begun her own beauty salon and now had a branch in the Galleria Mall. And Jude was just cruising around Canada looking for a place to skate, still as laid back as ever. He had also finally begun a solid relationship with Starr.

Throughout all of this, the six never forgot where they came from, nor did they forget each other. Each of them knew that the only reason they had achieved their dreams was because they had the support of the other five. It had been an amazing six years, but life means nothing without your friends. And so, the six had each made the one decision they thought they would never make, they would go home, and hopefully they would see each other in person for the first time in six years.


	2. Coming Home

Nikki stepped off the bus and glanced up at the sign in front of the mall. For a moment she simply stood and reminisced about all the good times she had had in this place. Part of her was still in shock that she had actually come back to the Galleria, but part of her was glad she had. She smiled to herself as she entered the mall, had it really been six years since she had last been here? Where had the time gone? Nikki shook her head, it didn't matter where the time had gone, all that mattered was that she was back and so where the others.

Nikki made her way to the food court, knowing that was where the others would want to meet. She headed for their old table by the Big Squeeze lemonade stand, and was surprised to find it open. She had expected some other group of teens to have laid claim to it, but apparently no one had. Shrugging, Nikki took her usual seat and waited, hoping the others would show up soon. After a few minutes of waiting, her phone rang drawing Nikki out of her thoughts.

"Hello?" she asked, as she answered the call.

"Nikki?" Jude's voice asked. "Where you at bra? We're waiting for you."

"I'm at the lemon." Nikki answered. "Where are you?"

"At the Gigantoplex." Jude answered. "But if you're at the lemon, I guess we'll come meet you there."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few." said Nikki, before hanging up. A few minutes later Jude rolled up on his board, a cheesy grin on his face. He was followed by Jen, Jonesy, Wyatt, and Caitlin. Nikki smiled as her friends arrived, standing to greet them each in turn. She reached Jonesy last and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Hey babe." she said, with a smile. "It's been too long since the last time we did that."

"You can say that again." said Jonesy, with a grin.

"Ooh I'm so glad we're all here again." Caitlin squealed. "I've missed you guys so much."

"Yeah, we've missed you too Cait." said Jen, with a smile.

"So, why were you guys at the Gigantoplex?" Nikki asked, glancing around at the others.

"We decided to meet there, and maybe catch a movie." Wyatt replied.

"And you all just decided not to tell me." said Nikki, giving them all a look of mock anger.

"Um, that's kinda my fault." said Caitlin, with a guilty shrug. "I was supposed to call you, but I kinda forgot, sorry."

"It's okay Caitlin." said Nikki. "I wanted to meet here anyway."

"I gotta admit it's kinda weird being back here." said Jonesy. "I thought somebody else would have taken over this table by now."

"I guess some things never change." said Nikki, with a shrug. "Maybe we're just destined to hang out at this table."

"Dude, you think?" asked Jude. "Because that would be so awesome."

"Yeah Jude, cuz being universally tied to a food court table is what all people dream of doing with their lives." said Nikki, rolling her eyes. The others chuckled at Nikki's joke and Jude just shrugged.

"So, Wyatt, is it true that you and Marlowe are back together?" Jonesy asked, after a brief moment of silence.

"Yes it is." Wyatt replied. "We've been together almost two years now."

"Dude, way to go bro." said Jude. He gave Wyatt a thumbs up and grinned.

"And what about you Jude?" Jen asked. "Is it true that you hooked up with Starr?"

"Totally." Jude replied. "Dude's gotta have a wingman, or woman, when he's cruising for a place to skate. And Starr's the coolest Betty ever, ya know bra?"

"I know what you mean Jude." Jen replied, with a glance at the others.

"So, if you two have each snagged your dream dates, where are they?" Jonesy asked.

"They're giving us a little time to ourselves, you know, so we can reconnect." said Wyatt.

"But they're part of your lives now." said Caitlin. "They shouldn't exclude themselves just because they weren't part of the group in high school. You should call them, tell them to come to the lemon and hang."

Wyatt and Jude shrugged and whipped out their phones. Within minutes Marlowe and Starr arrived at the lemon, almost as if they had appeared out of thin air. The two women moved to stand next to their respective man and greeted the rest of the group.

"It's good to see you all again." said Marlowe, smiling at the group.

"Yeah, I agree." said Starr. "Jude hasn't been this excited since he got his new board."

"You got a new board?" Jonesy asked, glancing at Jude. "What happened to your old one?"

"I kinda broke it trying a new trick dude." Jude replied. "But it's okay, my new board is sick, and it's faster, so it's cool bro."

"Cool." said Jonesy. "So what do you guys want to do now that we're back together?"

"I like Wyatt's idea of going to a movie." said Nikki. "And maybe afterwards, we can just roam the mall and see what's changed and what hasn't."

"Sounds good to me." said Jonesy. The others agreed and they made their way to the Gigantoplex, glad to be in each other's company once again.


	3. Nothing Much Has Changed

An hour and a half later, the gang emerged from the Gigantoplex and made their way back to the food court. "Damn, that was a good movie." said Jonesy, as they took their usual seats.

"Yeah, it's been awhile since I saw one that good." said Wyatt, nodding in agreement. The others also agreed with Jonesy's assessment before turning their attention to what they were going to do next. "So, did you still want roam the mall Nikki?" Wyatt asked.

"Yeah, if that's cool with all of you?" Nikki replied, glancing around the table.

"Sure, as long as we can stop by the Penalty Box so I can say hi to coach." said Jen.

"Coach Halder still works at the Penalty Box?" Jonesy asked.

"Uh, duh, he owns the place?" said Nikki. "Besides, he loves that store, why wouldn't he still work there?"

"Uh, maybe because it's been six years since we left." said Jonesy. "I mean, we don't work here anymore, so why does he?"

"Well, because we left and he didn't." replied Nikki. Jonesy shrugged, not wanting to start an argument with Nikki on their first day back together.

"So, now that that's all worked out, lets get going." said Wyatt. As they stood to leave, they were stopped a familiar face, one they had not been looking forward to seeing. Ron the Rent-A-Cop, head of mall security was leaning casually against the lemon, a look of pure loathing on his face.

"So, it is true, you maggots have come back." Ron growled, his glare focusing on Jonesy and Jude. The gang glared back, they had always hated the Rent-A-Cop, and they weren't going to let him push them around now.

"Yeah, we're back." Jonesy confirmed. "What's it to you?"

"Watch your tone soldier." Ron barked. "I'm just confirming that the rumors are true."

"Okay, just so long as you don't try and lock us up again, dude." said Jude.

Ron nodded and moved away, casting one last withering glare at them as he did. "Whew that was a close one." said Jonesy. "I thought he was going to try and punish us for some imaginary infraction again."

"I think Ron's mellowed in recent years." said Caitlin. "He's not as strict as he used to be."

"Wait, how do you-oh yeah." said Jonesy, changing course mid-sentence. "I forgot, you've got a salon here, that's how know all this."

"Shit Jonesy, how did you ever get into college?" asked Nikki.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jonesy asked, his voice indignant.

"Never mind." said Nikki. "Let's go say hi to Coach Halder." The others nodded and they made their way to the Penalty Box. They arrived to find the place deserted.

"Huh, that's odd." said Jen. "Coach Halder never leaves the store unattended. I wonder where he is?" She glanced around the store, but there was no sign of Coach Halder or anyone else. Jen made her way to the back of the store, hoping someone was in the break-room, but there was still no trace of her former employer. She returned to the front of the store, where the others were waiting for her. "No luck?" Nikki asked.

"No, I can't find him anywhere." said Jen. "I'm getting a little worried, this isn't like coach."

"Come on Jen, what's there to worry about?" asked Jonesy. "You really think someone's going to be stupid enough to take on Coach Halder?"

"I don't know, maybe." said Jen. "I mean, okay, it does seem unlikely, but-"

"MASTERSON!" Coach Halder's shout cut Jen short, making her jump.

"Ah, Coach, don't do that!" Jen shrieked, spinning around to face her old employer.

"Sorry about that Masterson." said Coach. "I heard you were back in town and I couldn't resist doing that for old times sake. Did I ever tell you that you were the best assistant coach I ever had?"

"Yes, you did." Jen replied, blushing slightly. "But I could have been better."

"No, you did fine." Coach said, looking Jen in the eyes. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you and I am so proud of you. Congratulations on opening the snowboard shop."

"Thanks Coach." said Jen, with a smile. "I couldn't have done it without the lessons I learned from you."

Coach Halder smiled and gave Jen a congratulatory hug. "I'm glad you're back Masterson." Coach muttered. "This mall hasn't been as fun without you and your friends." He released her and she smiled again.

"Thanks Coach, I'm glad we're back too." said Jen, with a glance at her friends.

"No doubt, bra." said Jude, with a quick glance at Coach Halder.

"Well, we better get going, got a lot of other places to visit." said Jen. Coach nodded and the gang made their way to their next location, the Khaki Barn.

Nikki was not particularly enthused by returning to her former place of employment, but she figured since they were being nostalgic she might as well. To her surprise, they were greeted by three familiar faces. Nikki had expected the Clones to still be working for the Crappy Barn, but not here at the Galleria.

"Nikki, welcome back!" Chrissy, the head clone, said as they entered.

"Chrissy, you're still working here?" Nikki asked. "I thought you, Kristen, and Kirsten would have moved up to the head office by now."

"Yeah, they gave us the chance, but we turned it down." said Kristen, popping up on Chrissy's left side, while Kirsten popped up on Chrissy's right.

"But why?" Nikki asked, perplexed. She could not believe the Clones had turned down a chance to be directly involved in the designing of Khaki Barn clothing, given their utter devotion to the company.

"We like working here." Chrissy replied. "Plus, working at the head office is a lot more work than you would think. Too much paperwork."

"Well, I guess if you're satisfied with this." Nikki said, with a shrug, before heading out of the store. The others followed quickly behind, not wanting to spend too much time with the Clones.

As they made their way through the mall, they began to notice things were almost exactly as they had left them six years earlier. "Okay, am I the only one who's noticed that nothing much has changed around this place?" Jonesy asked.

"No, but it's to be expected." said Nikki. "I mean, it has only been six years since we left."

"Actually, there are a few changes." said Caitlin, with a grin.

"Like what?" Wyatt asked, looking at Caitlin. Caitlin simply grinned again and began walking back towards the food court. Perplexed, the others followed without question, unsure what Caitlin was about to show them.

Caitlin lead them across the food court, and as they approached Wonder Taco, they realized exactly why she was so happy. There, standing behind the cash register, the giant taco hat on her head, was Caitlin's arch nemesis, Tricia.

"No fucking way!" said Jonesy, barely daring to believe his eyes. "Tricia works at Wonder Taco now. When did that happen?"

"About a year ago." said Caitlin, her grin growing larger. "She maxed out her credit card, you know like I did, and her dad made her get a job to pay it off."

"Poetic justice at its best." said Nikki, as she tried to stifle a snicker.

"But what happened to Julie?" Jonesy asked, looking at Caitlin.

"She and Darth got married and own a comic book shop downtown." Caitlin replied.

"Dude, that is so awesome." said Jude. "We're gonna have to check that out."

"Oh, you know it dude." said Jonesy, slapping Jude a high five.

"What else is new?" Wyatt asked, looking at Caitlin again.

"Wayne reopened Underground Video, Cristo and Blade got fired from Taj Mahome, and Burger McFlipsters bought the old Stick-It space." Caitlin replied.

"Wow, I guess there has been a bit of change around this place." said Nikki.

"Yeah, well, nothing lasts forever." said Jonesy. "Hey, let's go bug Wayne." The others agreed, and they set out for Underground Video, none of them aware at that moment just how true Jonesy's words would be.

**A/N: So, just a quick message about this story. Obviously I don't own 6teen, Teletoon does. Also if you're wondering why the fic has been rated M, it's because the profanity and violence will incresse in later chapters. I know this should have come at the end of the prologue but I'm really bad about remembering to add notes, so sorry about that. One final note before I go, if you haven't read my profile in awhile, I mention a whicked cool online comic called FreakAngels on there and how we need to get some fics started for this story because there are none currently and that's depressing.**


	4. Underground Again

Moments later the gang arrived at Underground Video to find Wayne seated behind the counter watching something on his small TV. He looked up at the sound of shuffling feet and cast a withering glare at the group. "Do you mind, I'm trying to watch-" Wayne paused, and scratched his head. "Wait, didn't you guys leave?"

"Nice to see you again too, you asshat." said Jonesy, casting a glare at Wayne.

"What do you guys want?" Wayne asked, watching the group with a suspicious look.

"We just wanted to come by and say hi, dude." Jude replied. "No need to get all harsh in our mellow bro."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be an ass." said Wayne. "It's just, I'm kinda in the middle of the 77th Samurai right now."

"Wait, isn't that your favorite movie?" Jonesy asked. Wayne nodded. "I thought Wyatt and Jude destroyed your only copy when they worked for you." Jonesy continued.

"Gee, thanks for bringing that up." Wyatt muttered, glancing at Wayne.

"Well, yes Jonesy, they did." Wayne replied, ignoring Wyatt's comment. "But it just so happens that I managed to find another copy. Well, actually Darth found it for me, but that's beside the point. What matters is I have the damn movie again."

"So, what made you decide to reopen Underground?" Wyatt asked.

"I decided McFlipsters wasn't for me." Wayne replied. "I mean, it's a fast food chain for God's sake. I'm still disgusted with myself for even working there in the first place."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Wyatt asked, though he was pretty certain he knew what Wayne's answer would be.

"Yes, it was horrible." Wayne shouted, glaring at Wyatt. "Sitting there, flipping burgers all day, I can't think of anything more boring. I would rather prank Ron than work at that crap hole again. Hell I'd even take working for Taj Mahome over Burger McFlipsters."

"Damn, dude you really didn't like it there, did you?" asked Jonesy.

"Gee, what tipped you off?" Wayne snapped.

"To be fair, McFlipsters is kinda prejudice against those who can't sing." said Nikki. "I mean we all know the primary reason Wyatt got hired there was because of his musical talents."

"It's true." said Wyatt. "If it wasn't for that goofy songbook they have and the fact that Tim let me make up my own songs, I probably wouldn't have worked there. I mean, seriously, flipping burgers is not the most glorious job in the world."

"At least you guys had permanent jobs." said Jonesy. "I worked at practically every store in the fucking mall."

"Yeah, but that was your own fault." said Nikki. "You always screwed up at your jobs and ignored the tasks you were given. Besides, wasn't it you who always said working so many jobs gave you a better resume than the rest of us?"

"Yeah, I did, but I'm not the only one who screwed up." said Jonesy. "What about you, or Jude, neither of you were exactly the best employees either."

"Well, it's kinda hard to be motivated to work when your job is at the Crappy Barn." Nikki replied. "And Jude, well-" She paused and looked at Jude, who shrugged. "Jude's never been the most motivated person on earth." Nikki continued.

"It's true dudes." said Jude. "I liked working at Stick-It, and at the ice rink, but it's hard for me to stay on task when there is skating to be done."

"Okay, I see your points, but please stop making it look like I'm the only one who slacked off." said Jonesy.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." said Nikki, slugging Jonesy in the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry to kick you guys out, but it's closing time." said Wayne.

"Yeah, okay, we'll get out of your hair then." said Jonesy.

"It was good seeing you again Wayne." said Wyatt. "And I really am sorry about ruining your old copy of the 77th Samurai."

"Hey, don't worry about it man." said Wayne. "And it was good to see you guys again too."

The others nodded and they left Underground, heading back towards the food court. They made their way to their table once again and began making plans for the next day. "Well, we should probably head out." said Jonesy. "What do you say we go down town tomorrow and pay a visit to Darth and Julie?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." said Wyatt. The others nodded in agreement and stood to leave.

"See you all tomorrow." Jonesy called, as the others made their way towards the exit. Once the others were gone he turned to Nikki, who was still seated. "Well, hear we are." he said. "All of us back together, just like old times."

Nikki smiled, and leaned across the table to kiss him, before she stood to leave. Jonesy followed her lead. "Yup, just like old times." Nikki agreed, as they headed for the exit.


	5. The Force Is Strong In This One

The following day the gang met at the Masterson-Garcia house. Jonesy had spent the night with Nikki and they were the first to arrive, followed soon there after by Caitlin, Wyatt, Marlowe, Jude, and Starr. Their reason for meeting here was Jen's mother had offered to make them all breakfast as a celebration for them all being back in town. They would be joined by Jonesy's father, his brothers Diego and Robbie, and Jen's sisters Courtney and Emma.

"Alright, time for some grub." said Jonesy, as he and Nikki sat down. Nikki rolled her eyes and thanked Mrs. Masterson for her generosity. At that moment, the others walked in, except for Jen, who was still upstairs getting ready.

"Dudes and dudettes what's happening?" said Jude, as he sat down next to Jonesy.

"Same old, same old dude." Jonesy replied, slapping Jude a high five.

"Where's Jen?" Caitlin asked, glancing around the room.

"Still upstairs, I think." said Mrs. Masterson. "So are Courtney, Robbie, and Diego. Jonesy, would you mind getting your brothers?"

"Sure." said Jonesy, rising to his feet. "Are they still asleep?"

"Probably, knowing your brothers." said Wyatt.

"Yeah, they're even more lazy than I am." said Jonesy, as he made his way towards the stairs. Jonesy made his way upstairs and banged on Diego and Robbie's door. "Hey, time for breakfast, you lazy asshats." he shouted.

A moment later, Diego wrenched open the door and glared at his older brother. "Would you please shut the fuck up." he muttered.

"Watch your mouth, you little shit." Jonesy snapped, a grin crossing his face.

"I'm not so little any more." Diego retorted. "I think I could take you."

"Hey, keep it down." Robbie called from inside the room.

Jonesy rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna fight you two, so if you don't want breakfast, stay in bed, I really don't care." With that, Jonesy turned and headed back downstairs, to find Jen and Courtney had beaten him. A moment later Diego and Robbie trailed in, both of them looking grumpy. Jonesy glanced at Nikki and grinned, and she grinned back.

"Well, now that everyone is here, let's eat." said Mrs. Masterson, as she set a large plate of pancakes in the center of the table.

A short time later, after they had finished the gang helped with the clean up before heading out. "So, what are you guys doing today?" Courtney asked, looking at Jen.

"We're going to go downtown and visit Darth and Julie." Jen replied.

"Ah, cool." said Robbie. "That comic shop they have is rad."

"Yeah, that's why we're going there." said Jonesy, giving his youngest brother a sarcastic look. Robbie glared at Jonesy and left the room. "It is so fun to mess with him." Jonesy continued. "He may be seventeen now, but he's still so easy to fuck with."

"Well, as long as you keep the pranking confined to Robbie, I won't say a thing." said Jen.

"Don't worry Jen, my days of pranking you are over." said Jonesy, flashing an evil grin at Jude behind Jen's back.

"Well, we better get going." said Jen, a couple of minutes later. The others agreed and after thanking Mrs. Masterson for the pancakes, made their way downtown. They arrived at the comic book shop minutes after it had opened and entered to find a man with gelled hair and a goatee seated behind the counter. Next to him stood a woman short brown hair and a radiant smile. For a moment, the gang simply stood there, too shocked to react, and then the man looked over at them.

"Can we help you?" he asked, eying the gang with a hint of suspicion.

"D-Darth?" Jonesy spluttered. "Is that you dude?"

"Jonesy?" Darth asked. "I thought you were at college playing hockey?"

"I was, but I came home for a while." Jonesy replied. "What happened to you man?"

"Six years can change a man quite a bit." said Darth, grinning at Jonesy's dumbfounded look. "You didn't expect me to look like a nerd forever, did you?"

"Uh, well-" Jonesy began, before pausing. He wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. To be honest, he had thought Darth would remain a shrimpy little dork forever, but he didn't want to admit this to Darth or anyone else. "No, I didn't." Jonesy lied, after a brief pause. Darth eyed Jonesy suspiciously for a moment, before shrugging.

Jonesy then turned his attention to Julie, who smiled at him. "Wow, Julie you look, wow!" said Jonesy.

"Thanks Jonesy." said Julie. "I'm not the Taco girl anymore, and I never will be again."

"Yeah, do you know who Wonder Taco hired to replace you?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes." Julie replied, her smile turning into an evil grin. "Serves that bitch right."

"Amen to that." said Nikki. "So Darth, do you still think you're a Jedi?"

"Not really." Darth admitted. "People still call me Darth though. I guess they just got so used to it that nothing else sounds right anymore."

"Well, whatever people call you, you seem to have done pretty well for yourself." said Jen.

"Yeah, we got this place cheap." said Darth. "It was a crap heap when we bought it, but we fixed it up and now it's the hottest comic shop in town."

"Yup, the force is definitely strong in this one." said Jude, glancing around the store. The others all laughed at Jude's joke and then began looking around the store.

"How much business do you get in here Darth?" Jonesy asked, as he looked at some of the vintage Star Wars action figures.

"Quite a bit." said Darth. "Wayne comes in almost every day and your brothers pop in every so often. Ron's even stopped by a couple times."

"Ron?" said Nikki, stifling a laugh. "The Rent-A-Cop is a comic book nerd?"

"Apparently." said Julie. "Who knew, right?"

"I guess you learn something new every day." said Wyatt.

The gang would spend the next three hours hanging out at the shop, checking out the merchandise and chatting with Darth and Julie. Finally they decided to head out, but not before Jude, Jonesy, and Wyatt had loaded up on comics and collectibles.

"It was good to see you all again." said Julie, as the gang made their way to the exit.

"Yeah, it was good to see you again too." said Jonesy. "And Jude is right, the force is strong in this one."

"Thanks Jonesy, and may the force be with you." said Darth, with a grin. Jonesy nodded and made his way outside. At this point, the gang made plans to split up for awhile and get back together for dinner that night. With everyone in agreement, Caitlin and Jen headed off for some shopping, Wyatt and Marlowe headed off to band practice, and Jude, Starr, Jonesy and Nikki headed to the new skate park to get their grindege on.

**A/N: So that's chapter 5. I know this is a bit different from the TDI stuff, what with the lack serious injury and mysterious threats, but that's not what I wanted to do with this fic. If you still want that kinda stuff read the Hunted, Moments In Time, or The Price of Power. If not, keep reading this and enjoy. Sorry about the wait by the way.**


	6. Skate City

Jude, Starr, Jonesy, and Nikki arrived at the skate park a short time later to find the place crawling with people. They had been told that this park was the best in Canada, and judging by the number of people, they had been told the truth. The park was called Skate City and for good reason, as it was immense. Jude was in awe as he stared at the park, watching other skaters fly by, too stunned to speak. "It-it's perfect." he whispered, after a moment of silence.

"Yeah it sure beats the hell out of the escalators at the mall, doesn't it?" said Jonesy, grinning at Nikki and Starr, who grinned back.

"This is, quite possibly, the best day of my life." said Jude, completely oblivious of his companions.

"So stop standing there gawking and get your ass in there." said Nikki, shoving Jude towards the nearest half-pipe.

Jude looked over his shoulder at the other three and grinned, before launching himself into the pipe. "Yahoo, this is so totally awesome dudes!" he shouted as he catapulted out the other side of the pipe, pulling himself into a 360 before dropping back in.

"Yeah, go Jude, you're the dude!" Jonesy shouted, while Nikki and Starr whistled and clapped, sharing Jude's excitement.

Jude took several more runs, covering the majority of the park before returning to his friends. They cheered and clapped as he rolled to a stop next to Starr, a huge grin on his face. None of them had seen Jude this happy since the day he had first met Starr.

"Dudes, this place is off the hook." said Jude. "I've never seen a park with more vert walls. This place is skateboarders dream come true."

"We're glad you like it man." said Jonesy, with another grin.

"It's definitely an awesome park." said Starr. "Could I take a couple of runs?"

"Sure bra, no problem." Jude replied, handing Starr his board.

Starr smiled and dropped in, throwing down a 360 of her own, before moving on. Jude watched her intently, his mind blocking out everything else around him. It was mesmerizing watching Starr skate, like watching the waves crashing on the shore or fireflies dancing in the twilight. Jude had always known Starr could skate, but he was still left in a state of numb disbelief every time he watched her. Starr was so much better than him at everything, and Jude knew that was what attracted him to her.

Jude's infatuation did not go unnoticed by Nikki and Jonesy, who had somehow known this would come to pass. "So, is she the one?" Nikki asked, nudging Jude in the ribs.

"Huh?" Jude asked, tearing himself out of his starstruck reverie.

"I asked if Starr was the one?" Nikki repeated, doing her best to suppress a smile.

"Uh, yeah, I think she is bra." Jude replied. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Nikki answered. "We just noticed you seem kinda infatuated with her, judging by how you were ogling at her."

"Well, yeah, I can't help it." said Jude, a guilty smile crossing his face. "When I look at her, I feel like there's nothing in the world I can't do, you know? And seeing her on that board, it's like seeing into the heart of the universe."

"I know how you feel Jude." said Nikki, a smile crossing her face now. "I feel the same way when I look at Jonesy."

"And I feel that way when I look at you." said Jonesy, as he pulled Nikki closer to him. He then leaned in and kissed her, Jude giving him a thumbs up as he did.

"God, can't you guys get a room?" a familiar voice called out from across the park. Jonesy and Nikki broke apart and turned to see Diego and Robbie making their way towards them.

"What the hell do you two want?" Jonesy asked, glaring at his brothers.

"We're just here skating, dude." said Robbie. "You're the one who's standing there sucking face." Diego chuckled and slapped Robbie a high five.

"Shut up." Jonesy snapped. "It's none of your business what Nikki and I do."

"What happened to you man?" Diego asked. "You used to be our cool older brother who played pranks and dicked around. And now, you're some kinda lover-boy. I think hooking up with Nikki destroyed your desire to be a man."

Jonesy glared at Diego, but did not respond. "What's the matter big brother, cat got your tongue?" Robbie asked, his tone mocking. "I never thought the great Jonesy Garcia would be silenced by his-" WHAM! Robbie was sent sprawling by shot to the head. Seconds later, Nikki was on top of him, her hands wrapping around his throat.

"Shut up you little shit!" Nikki snarled. "You don't know anything about your brother, anything, you fucking hear me? Jonesy is your brother, and you will treat him with respect, or I will tear you a new asshole, you stupid little shit."

At that moment Starr rolled up, stopping dead when she saw Nikki. "What's going on here?" she asked, looking from Jude to Jonesy to Diego.

"Nothing." Nikki growled, as she got back to her feet and heading for the exit. Diego pulled Robbie to his feet and the two of them left as well.

"Why was Nikki beating up your brother?" Starr asked, glancing at Jonesy.

"Diego and Robbie were being stupid, don't worry about it." Jonesy muttered, as moved off to find Nikki.

"But, won't they-" Starr began, but Jude silenced her. "Don't worry about it bra." he said. "It'll all work itself out. Nothing's going to happen to Nikki, it was just a misunderstanding." Starr nodded, and they made their way out of the park, both of them hoping nothing more came of the fight they had just witnessed.


	7. Music Is Life

At that same moment, across town, Wyatt and Marlowe were in the midst of a jam session with their band. The band had undergone some lineup changes in the last six years, but things seemed to have settled down in recent months. Aside from Wyatt and Marlowe, the band consisted of Connie, the drummer from their original band, Scott, their new rhythm guitarist, and Andy their new keyboardist.

With the lineup finally solidified, the band had finally gotten to work on their new album. They had already put out one record, and Wyatt had used the time of flux to put out his first solo album. But it was time for another joint record, and Wyatt was more than happy to put his solo career on hold to jam with the band. They were working on some new tunes at this practice, but it was always nice to throw down some old songs, just for fun.

One of the bands favorite songs to play was "The Reason", which Wyatt had written for Marlowe when they were still in high school. Marlowe in particular, liked playing the song, in part, because it was about her. But at the moment, the band was focused on a new song Wyatt had written two days earlier, titled "Coming Home."

"Wow, Wyatt this song is sick." said Connie. "What inspired the lyrics?"

"Well, a couple days ago, Jonesy, Jen, Jude, and Nikki got back into town, and I kinda wrote the song about that." Wyatt replied. "Basically, what the song is saying is, it's nice to go out and experience the world, but it's also nice to come home to the familiar once in while."

"I think it's a great song." said Marlowe, kissing him on the cheek. "It really sums up the way you see the world and the way you feel about your friends."

Wyatt smiled and returned Marlowe's kiss. "Well, we should probably get back to playing." he said, glancing at the band. The others nodded, and they launched into another, new, as yet untitled, song. The band would practice for another hour, before a knock on the door of their studio drew Wyatt's attention.

Wyatt answered the door to find Jen and Caitlin standing outside the studio, both of them carrying several bags of clothes. "Shopping went well I see." Wyatt muttered as he lead them in.

"Yeah, there were a lot of sales today." said Caitlin. "And you know me, I can't resist a good sale, no matter how hard I try."

"Technically, you can't resist shopping period, but whatever." said Jen.

"So what brings you two by?" Marlowe asked, glancing at the girls.

"Well, it's almost time to meet the others for dinner." said Jen.

"Oh shit." said Wyatt. "I totally forgot we were all getting together for dinner tonight. Uh, just give us a moment and we'll be ready." Jen nodded and she and Caitlin took a seat while they waited for the band to pack up.

A few minutes later, Wyatt and Marlowe emerged from the back room. "Okay, we're ready." said Wyatt. He turned to the band and grinned. "Great practice today guys, I really think we're getting close to recording this new album."

"Well, it'll happen when it happens." said Connie. "Have a good time tonight."

"Yeah, see you in a couple days." said Marlowe, as she and Wyatt made their way to the exit, Jen and Caitlin following them. They headed for Wyatt's car and after piling inside headed off to the restaurant.

"So, just out of curiosity, how did you forget we were having dinner tonight?" Caitlin asked, glancing at Wyatt.

"I got wrapped up in practice, I guess." Wyatt replied, shrugging.

"But, Marlowe didn't forget." said Caitlin. "What makes you so different?"

"I don't know." said Wyatt. "Perhaps it's my philosophy that music is life, I just get so wrapped up in the music when I'm playing, that I lose track of everything else."

"It's worse when he's working on new songs." said Marlowe, with a grin. Wyatt cast her a dark look before glancing at Jen.

"So, where are we meeting the others?" he asked, his expression guilty.

"That new Italian place outside the mall." Jen replied, without bothering to ask how he could have forgotten about that too. Wyatt nodded, and moments later they were pulling into the parking lot of the Bella Italia, a well known Italian restaurant Jen, Jonesy, and Nikki had all eaten at before. The others were waiting outside the restaurant and Jude grinned as the four of them made their way towards the entrance.

A short time later, they found themselves sitting in the restaurant, awaiting their food. It was at this point that Jen noticed that Nikki did not look happy. "Nikki, what's wrong?" she asked. Nikki looked at Jen, but did not answer.

"Uh, we had a little scrape at Skate City." said Jonesy, wrapping his arm around Nikki.

"What happened?" Caitlin asked, looking from Nikki to Jonesy, concern on her face.

"Diego and Robbie showed up and were being asshats." said Jonesy. "Saying things like I wasn't fun anymore and it was Nikki's fault. Nikki got pissed and kicked Robbie's ass."

"You beat up Robbie?" Jen asked, staring at Nikki in surprise.

"It's not a big deal Jen." said Jonesy. "Robbie had it coming. He was being an asshat and he got what he deserved."

"But what if he tells your dad?" Jen asked, looking from Nikki to Jonesy.

"It doesn't matter." said Jonesy. "If my dad finds out I'll just tell him what happened and everything will be okay."

At that moment the food arrived and the conversation shifted to other topics. Two hours later the gang made their way out of the restaurant, all of them stuffed to the breaking point. As they said their goodbyes, Nikki cornered Jonesy and forced the conversation back to the incident at the park.

"Jonesy, we need to talk about what happened at the park today." Nikki said, staring at him intently. Jonesy sighed, he could see there was no way out of this.

"Look, Nikki everything is going to be okay." Jonesy said. "Nothing is going to happen."

"But what if Jen is right?" Nikki asked. "What if Robbie does tell your dad?"

"My dad can't do anything about it." Jonesy replied. "We're adults now Nikki, our parents can't control or punish us the way they used to. Trust me, everything will be fine and Robbie will forget about it within a couple of days."

Nikki smiled, but she was not completely reassured. Still, she had no reason not to trust Jonesy, and he was right, these things did usually work themselves out in the end.


	8. The Proposal

The next morning Jonesy awoke early, unable to sleep any longer, given the thoughts that were spinning in his head. He had been having these thoughts for years now, but due to circumstances beyond his control, he had been unable to act upon them. However, the circumstances had changed, and Jonesy now had the perfect opportunity to act. The problem was, now that he had the chance to act, he wasn't sure if he could. It was very difficult for him to concentrate on his desires, which did not surprise him as much as he thought it would. His predicament was an unusual one, one he was not in the least bit prepared to deal with. After all, how often is it that you decide to ask your best friend to marry you?

Jonesy knew he had to figure out a way to overcome his fears soon, the longer he was with Nikki without asking her the more insane he was going to get. The only question was how? How to overcome one of your greatest fears without making a complete fool of yourself? As Jonesy sat sipping his coffee the answer suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. It was so simple, why had he not seen it before? Perhaps he had simply not been looking hard enough or maybe he had known the answer all along, he had just been to afraid to ask for help.

With the excitement of a kid on Christmas, Jonesy whipped out his phone and cycled through his contacts. When he reached the number he was looking for, he smiled to himself, still overcome by his own stupidity. Then he dialed.

"Hello?" Caitlin's voice asked after three rings.

"Caitlin, I need to talk to you." Jonesy said, not bothering to identify himself.

"Jonesy?" Caitlin asked. "It's eight thirty in the morning, what are you doing awake?"

"It doesn't matter." Jonesy said, his voice urgent. "Look, just meet me at that coffee shop downtown, I'll explain everything there. And call Jude." Before Caitlin had a chance to respond, Jonesy had already hung up and was flying up the stairs to his room. Ten minutes later he was back downstairs and charging out the front door.

Jonesy arrived at the coffee shop a short time later to find a very sleepy Jude and a very grumpy Caitlin waiting for him. He smiled as he walked through the door and made his way over to them. Caitlin returned his smile with a glare and Jude simply ignored him.

"Well, we're here." Caitlin said, shortly. "What is so important that you had to meet with us at nine in the morning?"

"Well, um, I'm not quite sure how to say this-" Jonesy began, watching the other two closely for their reactions.

"Dude, just spit it out." Jude muttered. "If it's that important, just tell us bro."

Jonesy sighed, taking a deep breath to relax. "I'm going to ask Nikki to marry me." he said, his eyes still fixed on the other two, awaiting their reactions.

For a moment, Jude and Caitlin simply sat in disbelieving silence, and then Caitlin's expression softened. "EEEEEE! Jonesy that's so great!" she squealed, her anger now totally gone.

"Dude." Jude said, staring at his best friend. "Dude nice plan."

"When are you planning on asking her?" Caitlin asked, a huge grin on her face.

"Tonight." Jonesy replied. "Actually, that's why I called. I need help figuring out how to do it. I'm not sure how to go about this, you know?"

"Dude, it's not really that complicated." said Jude. "Just take her out for a romantic dinner, maybe serenade her with some music, and then just ask her."

"It's not quite that simple." said Caitlin. "First, you've got to have a ring, but otherwise, Jude's right. It's not like Nikki will say no, assuming you have a ring?" She looked at Jonesy critically, as if expecting him to have messed up the most crucial piece of an engagement.

"I have a ring." Jonesy assured her. "I bought it three months ago."

"You bought the ring three months ago?" Jude asked, staring at Jonesy, who nodded.

"And you haven't asked Nikki yet?" Caitlin asked, disbelief in her voice. Jonesy nodded again, a guilty look on his face.

"What the fuck man?" Jude shouted. "You can't carry an engagement ring around with you like that. That's like walking around with a million dollars in your pocket."

"Okay, first of all, I don't carry it with me everywhere I go." said Jonesy. "And second, I didn't have a chance until just a few days ago, because Nikki was on the other side of the motherfucking country."

"Good point." said Jude. "But still bro, you gotta do this, like, now!"

"What do think I'm planning on doing?" Jonesy asked, his voice slightly hysterical.

"Oh, yeah, tonight." said Jude. "I forgot."

At that moment, back at the Masterson-Garcia house Nikki sat alone at the breakfast table, staring into her bowl of cereal. She still could not shake her feeling that something bad was going to happen because of what had happened at the park the previous day. Why had she done it? Why had she risen to Robbie's bait? It wasn't like he had been poking fun at her. He had been poking fun at Jonesy, which she did all the time, so why had she been so offended? Was it because she felt she was the only one who was entitled to make fun of Jonesy, or was it because of something deeper?

At that moment, Diego and Robbie walked into the room, cutting Nikki's musing short. She glanced at them, but they did not return her look. Robbie sported a nice shiner where Nikki's fist had connected with his face, but otherwise appeared to be unhurt. Diego simply looked pissed. Nikki continued to watch them as they got their breakfast and took their seats at the opposite end of the table.

For several minutes, the three of them sat in silence before Nikki turned to the brothers, a look of pleading on her face. "Okay look, about what happened yesterday at Skate City, I didn't mean to, you know." Nikki began. "It's just that you guys were being so mean to your brother and I don't know, I guess I thought you shouldn't do that. But I was out of line attacking you like that and I want to apologize for my actions, so, I'm sorry for beating you up." She looked at the brothers, who were staring at her with looks of surprise.

"Don't worry about it." Robbie said, after a moment of silence. "It's not like I didn't deserve it. We were being assholes, and, well we got what we had coming."

Nikki stared at them a moment, unsure how to respond this confession. "Are-are you sure you're okay with this?" she finally asked.

"Yes." Robbie answered. "Shit happens, we hold no illusions about that. Besides, you've beat up Jonesy before, it was only a matter of time before you got one of us."

"And, no, before you ask your next question, we didn't tell our dad." said Diego.

Nikki smiled, glad she and the brothers were still on speaking terms. At that moment, Jonesy walked into the room, a huge grin on his face. Nikki, Diego, and Robbie stared at him a moment, unsure if they wanted to know why Jonesy was so happy this early in the day.

"Okay, what are you up to?" Nikki asked, her eyes meeting Jonesy's.

"Nothing." said Jonesy, giving no hint that he was intimidated. "Except for my brilliant plan." he continued, with a wink.

"What brilliant plan?" Nikki asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I want you to go out with me tonight." Jonesy answered. "Just the two of us, someplace romantic, where we can get lots of wine."

Nikki stared at him for a moment, her senses still telling her he was up to something. But she could see that he was really sincere about this offer, so she conceded. "Okay." she sighed. "We'll go out, but no funny business." Jonesy grinned and left the room and Nikki looked at the brothers, who both shrugged, just as confused as she was.

At eight that night, Jonesy met Nikki at her parents place, ready to ask the question that would change both their lives forever. Ten minutes later they arrived at the restaurant, a little Italian bistro, and made their way inside. Once they were seated, Jonesy ordered some wine and they began to talk, trading jokes at first to lighten the mood. Jonesy kept one hand in his pocket, firmly clamped on the ring box. Once the food arrived, Jonesy began to steer the conversation towards the proposal, ever aware of Nikki's eyes on his face.

"So, this is a nice place, isn't it?" Jonesy asked, his eyes darting ever so briefly to the door.

"Yeah, it's pretty good, I guess." said Nikki, her eyes boring into his. "Jonesy, is everything okay? You look kind of nervous."

"Me, nervous?" Jonesy spluttered. "I'm not nervous, I'm totally fine."

Nikki's eyes narrowed, she could tell he wasn't being completely honest with her. Jonesy grinned, his confidence faltering. _Come on Jonesy, keep it together man._ he thought. _Just ask her the damn question._

Jonesy took a deep steading breath and looked into Nikki's eyes. "Nikki, I didn't bring you here just for a romantic dinner." Jonesy began. "I brought you here because I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too, so what?" said Nikki. "You don't have to-" Jonesy held a finger up to her lips to silence her.

"No, Nikki, I mean I really, really love you." Jonesy continued, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the ring. "Not just in a crush kind of way, I really love you, I always have. I can't imagine my life without you in it and even after all the fights we've had and all the times I've pissed you off, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are the only person who has made me feel this way and I don't want that feeling to ever end, so I'm asking you, from the bottom of my heart, Nikki Wong, will you marry me?"


	9. Spreading the News

Nikki stared at Jonesy for a moment, unsure how she should respond to his query. She was acutely aware of the eyes watching from other tables, and felt the heat rise in her cheeks. This was not what she had expected when Jonesy had asked her out earlier that day. She was not sure she was ready for this. True, she had loved Jonesy for years, but marriage was a huge step, one Nikki had hoped to have a few more years to look forward to. But, as she stared into Jonesy's eyes, she knew that this was meant to be and Nikki had never been one to ignore destiny.

"Yes." she whispered. "Yes, Jonesy I will marry you." Jonesy smiled and the watching crowd burst into applause. Jonesy slipped the ring onto Nikki's finger and pulled her into a powerful hug, kissing her as he did. After a moment, Nikki pulled herself away and made her way to the bathroom. Jonesy smiled to himself, he had done it, he had asked her and she had said yes. Never in his life had Jonesy felt more relief and joy than he did at that moment.

Nikki entered the bathroom and whipped out her phone, dialing the first number she could think of. "Hello?" Jen's voice asked a moment later.

"Jen." Nikki said, barely able to keep her emotions in check. "Jonesy just asked me to marry him and I said yes."

There was a silence on the other end of the line following Nikki's statement which was shattered a moment later by a scream of elation. "Oh my God Nikki, that is so great!" Jen exclaimed. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Nope, you're the first." said Nikki. "We'll meet up with you later to celebrate."

"Sounds good." said Jen. "Do you want to tell the others, or can I do it?"

"You can do it, I think Jonesy and I need to finish our dinner." said Nikki, with a chuckle.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later Nikki." said Jen. She hung up and Nikki made her way back to the table where Jonesy was waiting to finish.

At that moment, Jen sent a mass text message to the others, telling them to come by her place for a big announcement. One by one, Wyatt, Marlowe, Caitlin, Jude, and Starr arrived, each of them anticipating Jen's big news, though Caitlin and Jude were pretty sure they already knew what she was going to tell them. Once they were all gathered, Jen stood and stared at them, barely able to contain her excitement.

"So, you said you had news?" Wyatt asked, after a moment of silence. "What did you want to tell us?" He stared at Jen, awaiting her response.

"Jonesy asked Nikki to marry him and she said yes." Jen answered, almost shouting out of excitement. Wyatt's eyes widened in surprise and Starr choked on the green tea she was drinking. Marlowe looked as though she had been hit with a baseball. But Jude and Caitlin simply grinned, not surprised in the least.

"I knew it!" Caitlin shouted. "I knew that's what you were going to tell us."

"Wait, what?" Jen asked, casting Caitlin a bewildered glance. "How could you already know, it only happened twenty minutes ago and Nikki said I was the only one she had told."

"Chill bra." said Jude. "Jonesy called me and Cait this morning to ask us for advice about how to go about popping the question, that's how she knows."

"Oh, okay." said Jen. "I was just checking. So what do you guys think?"

"Well, I think it's great." said Wyatt. "They do make a great couple and, well, one of us had to be the first to get hitched, might as well be them."

"I agree." said Jonesy, as he and Nikki walked into the room, both of them waring huge smiles. "I have struggled with this idea for years and I finally did it."

"That you did." said Wyatt. "Congratulations, both of you."

"Thank you Wyatt." said Nikki, giving Wyatt a hug. Wyatt smiled and nodded. Starr and Marlowe also gave their congratulations, before Diego and Robbie crashed the party.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Diego asked, staring at the gang.

"Your brother just asked Nikki to marry him dude." said Jude, with a grin. Diego stared at Jude in dumbfounded silence for a moment before look at Jonesy.

"Is that true man?" he asked, his eyes moving to the ring on Nikki's finger.

"Yeah, it's true." said Jonesy. "What the fuck are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." said Diego. "Except offer my congratulations and apologize for the way I acted the other day."

"Forget about it." said Jonesy. "We're brothers, being dicks to each other is what we do." Diego nodded, sensing Jonesy did not want to discuss the issue, and he and Robbie left the room. A moment later, Mr. Garcia entered along with Mr. and Mrs. Wong.

"Mom, Dad!" Nikki exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to confirm a story that we were told earlier today about you and Jonesy." Mr. Wong answered. Nikki cast a dark look at Jude and Caitlin, before staring at her father.

"What story?" she asked, keeping her voice as innocent as possible.

"The story of how Jonesy was going to ask you to marry him without consulting us or his father first." Mr. Wong answered.

"Come on dad, Jonesy and I are old enough to make our own decisions." said Nikki. "You can't tell us what to do anymore."

"Nikki," said Mr. Garcia, "You misunderstand what your father is saying. We're perfectly fine with you and Jonesy marrying. We just wish you had told us before buying the ring." He cast a stern look at his eldest son, before smiling.

"Oh, well in that case, we're sorry we didn't tell you and we're glad to have your support." said Jonesy, returning his fathers smile. "Although, the reason I didn't tell you is because this was kinda a spur of the moment decision. I just bought the ring and decided I would ask Nikki the first chance I got. It's something I've been wanting to do for three or four years now, and just never had the chance."

"We understand Jonesy." said Mrs. Wong. "Love can be a difficult emotion to deal with and long distances can only make it more difficult. We always had a feeling you would become our son in law, we just weren't expecting it quite so soon."

"Well, now everybody knows." said Jonesy. "So the next step is to get ready."

Over the next two days the news of Nikki and Jonesy's engagement spread like wildfire. Everyone from Darth and Julie to Ron to Coach Halder to the Clones called to offer their congratulations. Jonesy had expected this kind of chaos to ensue once the word got out, but he had been hoping it wouldn't. "Okay, that's it, I'm disconnecting all the phones in this fucking house." Jonesy shouted, after the hundredth call.

"Come on Jonesy, it's not that bad." said Nikki. "People just want to tell us congratulations. If you didn't want to deal with the calls, you shouldn't have asked me."

Jonesy sighed and stared at his wife to be. "Yeah, I guess you're right." he muttered. "It's still really annoying though." Nikki smiled and pulled Jonesy towards her, brushing his hair out of his face as she did.

"It could be worse, they could all be stopping by to bug us." she said, her voice soothing. "Anyway, like you said the other night, we need to get ready." Jonesy smiled and nodded, remembering that before the wedding there were parties to be held. He looked into Nikki's eyes and smiled, knowing that asking her to marry him was the best decision he had ever made.


	10. Two Parties, One Night

A week after Jonesy's proposal, he and Nikki were discovering that getting married was not as easy as they had always been lead to believe. There was so much work to be done and the constant meddling of their friends and families was not helping the matter. Jonesy, in particular, was beginning to wonder if he had been too quick to act upon his desires. Between Caitlin and Jen's constant suggestions and Mrs. Wong's insistence that the marriage be traditional, Jonesy was certain he was going to lose his mind. Nikki was handling the pressure better, but only just. Her biggest problem was with her mother, who wanted Nikki to ware the same dress she had worn at her wedding, an idea with which Nikki did not agree.

"You know, I'm starting to think we made a mistake telling everyone." Jonesy commented one afternoon. He glanced at Nikki, who met his gaze with a look that said they would have found out eventually anyway.

"I don't know Jonesy." she muttered. "Somehow I don't think that would have been a good move on our part."

"And telling them was?" Jonesy asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Because I'm not so sure of that. All of this work is driving me crazy and I swear to God if Caitlin or Jen comes to us with one more crazy idea about how we can make this wedding memorable I'm gonna fucking hurl!"

Nikki looked at Jonesy, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it Jonesy." she said. "It'll all be over soon and then we can escape from all these crazy people."

"I resent that." said Jen, walking into the room, Jude, Wyatt, and Caitlin behind her. "We're only trying to help you guys get ready."

"We know you are Jen, and I'm sorry for being a bitch." said Nikki, with a sigh. "It's just I'm not sure if we need all this pageantry. I mean it is just a wedding and all." The others looked at her, surprised by her words.

"Actually Nikki, you're wrong." said Caitlin. "This isn't just some random wedding, it's you and Jonesy's wedding. That's why we're all putting so much effort into it."

"Yeah, and we appreciate that, but Jonesy and I aren't special." said Nikki. "We don't need or deserve a great, fantastic show for our wedding. We just want to get married and enjoy the rest of our lives together."

"Yeah, and we understand that, but you're the first of us to get married, the memories of this have to last forever." Caitlin argued.

"Don't you think they will anyway?" Jonesy asked. "For fuck's sake Caitlin, you don't need a fucking grand ball for a wedding to be memorable. All you need is the bride and groom, their families, and their friends."

Caitlin opened her mouth to argue, but Jude beat her to the punch. "Okay, it's obvious you want us to pull back a bit and we will." he said. "But in return, you have to let us throw you both awesome parties, agreed?"

"I'll accept those terms." said Nikki, glancing at Jonesy who nodded. Wyatt and Jen nodded in agreement as well, but Caitlin seemed unwilling to budge. The others watched her intently, waiting for her answer.

"Fine." she sighed. "I'll pull back on the wedding thing, but I still think it should be big."

"Caitlin, don't be angry." said Nikki. "I know you like do things over the top, but sometimes you have to let other people do things their way."

Caitlin nodded and smiled. "It's okay." she muttered. "At least I still get to work on your bachelorette party."

"That you do, bra." said Jude, smiling at Caitlin, before looking at Nikki and Jonesy. "So, the wedding is in what, three weeks, so that means we should have these parties in approximately three and three quarters, right?"

"That sounds right to me." said Wyatt. "And if that's the case, we should probably get going so we get the plans going." Jude nodded and he, Wyatt, Jen, and Caitlin left, leaving Nikki and Jonesy to wonder what was awaiting them.

Three weeks later Jonesy found himself at Skate City, the site Jude and Wyatt had chosen for his bachelor party. It was not the place he had been expecting, but given that Jude was in charge of planning the party Jonesy wasn't too surprised. At the vary least it would be better than when his father and Mrs. Masterson had gotten married and he and Jen had accidentally booked Grind Me for both parties on the same night. Nikki's bachelorette party was tonight as well, but she was at Grind Me with the girls. Jude and Caitlin had been very good about not booking the same location.

Jonesy sat, waiting for the others to show up. He had no idea who Jude and Wyatt had invited to the party, but he had feeling there were going to be quite a few people here tonight. At that moment, Jude rolled up on his skateboard, a grin on his face. Wyatt walked into the park a moment later, carrying a large stereo and a stack of CDs. "Hey Jonesy." he said, as he set the stereo down. "Ready for you're last night as a single guy?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Jonesy answered. "Where is everybody?"

"Don't know." Wyatt replied. "They should be here any minute though." No sooner had these words escaped his mouth when Darth and Wayne arrived, both of them carrying cases of beer. Wayne grinned and Darth gave Jonesy a thumbs up.

"Darth, Wayne, welcome dudes." said Jude rolling over to relieve them of the beer.

Moments later, Diego, Robbie, Mr. Garcia, Mr. Wong, Ron, and Coach Halder arrived all of them excited to be there. Jonesy was surprised to see Ron and Coach, who he had not in a million years expected Jude and Wyatt to ask. Still, he was glad they were there.

"Well, I've got to say Jonesy, I never took you for the marrying type, but I've been wrong before." said Ron. "Congratulations again, soldier."

"Thanks Ron." said Jonesy, grinning at his old enemy. He was not sure what shocked him more, the fact that Ron was here or the fact that Ron knew his name. Coach Halder extended a similar greeting, adding that he wished he could have had Jonesy as an employee at the Penalty Box.

"Okay, now that we've all said our bits, let's party dudes!" said Jude, popping the cork out of a bottle of champaign and holding the bottle aloft. "Here's to Jonesy and his last night as a bachelor." Jude continued. "May his life with Nikki be better than the one he has already lived."

"I don't know about that." Jonesy shouted, as the others cheered. "My life has been pretty good so far. But I think you're right Jude, what's coming next is going to be great."

Meanwhile, across town within the confines of Grind Me, Nikki was having just as much fun at her bachelorette party. Caitlin and Jen had outdone themselves on this one, turning Grind Me into a virtual night club. It was far beyond what Nikki had expected from them, and she had seen the dances Jen had been in charge of in high school. The three of them were joined for this party by Starr, Marlowe, Julie, Mrs. Masterson, Mrs. Wong, Courtney, and the Clones, who's arrival had surprised Nikki most of all.

"This party is so great." said Nikki, smiling at the others. "Thank you all so much for coming tonight."

"Are you kidding?" asked Chrissy. "We wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Thanks Chrissy." said Nikki. "I know we've had our differences in the past, but I'm glad you three are here."

"So are we." said Kirsten. "And as far as past disagreements go, don't worry about it. The past is the past, it doesn't matter now. This is the present and all that matters now is that you're getting married and that's beautiful."

Nikki nodded and they returned to partying. At some point that night, however, Nikki stepped out of the party for a moment of quiet reflection. It had been over a month since Jonesy had proposed, but it was just now hitting Nikki how real this was. She was getting married, and her life was changing forever. She could not remember a time when she had felt more excitement or fear than she felt right now. The only thing weighing heavier on her mind was the need to know if Jonesy felt the same way.

Back at Skate City, Jonesy had also pulled himself away from the party to reflect. He to felt excitement and fear, but he knew he was making the right move. All his life he had waited for this moment and now it was less than twenty four hours away. By this time tomorrow, he would be married and would be with Nikki forever.

**A/N: So there's chapter 10. Not quite what you were expecting, eh? When I started writing this fic I had a plan, and that plan was hook Nikki and Jonesy up for good, which I've done. Next chapter is the wedding and after that, things are gonna get interesting. Until then, enjoy!**


	11. The Joining Of Jonesy And Nikki

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and clear, the perfect weather for such an occasion. Jonesy was oblivious to this fact however, as he was at the moment, still asleep. A sharp knock on the door drew Jonesy from his slumber and he glanced groggily at the door. "Go away, I'm sleeping." he muttered.

"Jonesy, dude, your wedding starts in like, eight hours." Jude's voice called.

Jonesy yelped as though he had been shocked and sat up. "Shit, shit, shit!" he muttered as he rolled out of bed. "Why didn't you come get me sooner?"

"I thought Jen was getting you up." Jude replied. "I guess she didn't."

"Gee, you think." said Jonesy, as he opened the door. Jude stared at him with a mixture of surprise and humor. Jonesy could read Jude's thoughts in his eyes and he had to agree, how could he have forgotten his wedding was today? He could see how Jude would think that was funny too, as it was exactly the kind of thing he would do. Jonesy shook his head, amazed once again by the extent of his own stupidity.

"What time did we get back last night?" Jonesy asked, glancing at Jude as they made their way downstairs.

"No idea dude." Jude replied. "We were still at Skate City at midnight, but that was the last time I checked the time. Maybe Mr. Wong or your dad knows."

"Yeah, maybe." said Jonesy. "I guess it doesn't really matter though." They entered the dining room to find Wyatt, Diego, Robbie, Mr. Garcia, and Mr. Wong waiting for them. Jonesy grinned and took a seat at the table. "Where are the girls?" he asked.

"At my house." Mr. Wong replied. "It's tradition for the groom not to see the bride until the wedding, so we thought it would be good to stay at different locations."

Jonesy nodded and the seven of them had some breakfast before heading off to the church.

Three hours later Jonesy found himself sitting in the mens changing room running over his vows in his head. He still had five hours until the ceremony, but he wanted to be absolutely sure he didn't mess this up. He wondered for a moment if Nikki was as tense as he was and then remembered that she didn't do well in high pressure situations either, so of course she would be tense.

At that moment, almost as if she were reading his mind, Nikki's thoughts turned to Jonesy. She was finding it hard to wait until the wedding to see him, but she knew it was tradition. Nikki had never thought before today that she would be so caught up by her emotions for Jonesy, but the previous night had shown her that she was ready to be his forever, though she knew Jonesy didn't think of her as property. Still, she could not help feeling some trepidation, this was after all, the biggest decision either of them had made in their lives. Before her fears could consume her, Nikki's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of her mother, Mrs. Masterson, Jen, Caitlin, Marlowe, Starr, and Julie. Nikki smiled at them, glad to have such a strong group of friends to support her today. She had chosen Jen as her Matron of Honor and Caitlin, Marlowe, Starr, and Julie as her bridesmaids, though the competition had been fierce, as Courtney and the Clones had lobbied for bridesmaid spots as well. Nikki had considered them, but in her heart she knew she had made the right decision.

"Hey honey." said Mrs. Wong, smiling at her daughter. "You look so beautiful."

"Thanks mom." said Nikki, returning her mother's smile. "I'm glad you're here today. I know I wasn't always the best daughter, but I want you to know I've always loved you."

"I love you too honey." Mrs. Wong replied. "And you've always been a great daughter, the best a mother could ask for."

"It's almost time, we should get ready." Jen said, cutting into the mother/daughter moment. Nikki nodded and her mother and Caitlin set about getting her ready.

Back in the men's room Jonesy had been joined by Jude, his best man, and Wyatt, Diego, Robbie, and Darth, his groomsmen. Mr. Garcia and Mr. Wong were there as well. Jonesy looked at the six of them and grinned, trying to keep his confidence up, but Jude could tell something was up.

"You ready for this dude?" he asked, glancing at Jonesy.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Jonesy replied, not meeting Jude's look.

"Come on dude, don't hide the truth today. If something's bothering you just tell us." said Jude, placing a hand on Jonesy's shoulder.

"Everything's cool man, I'm just hoping I don't fuck this up." said Jonesy.

Jude looked at his best friend and shook his head. "Sometimes Nikki's right, you can be really thick." he muttered. Jonesy stared at him, not sure how to respond. "You love Nikki right?" Jude continued, Jonesy nodded. "Then don't worry about it, everything will be fine."

"Thanks man." said Jonesy, another grin crossing his face. At that moment there was a knock at the door and Caitlin poked her head inside.

"It's time." she whispered. She flashed a grin at Jonesy. "See you out there." and then she disappeared. Jonesy glanced at the guys and they exited the room, heading towards the moment that would change all their lives.

Out in the sanctuary the wedding guests were gathered in silence, waiting for the moment they had all come for. Everyone was there, Ron, Coach Halder, Wayne, the Clones, Courtney, even Tricia had come. They were just about to find out what was taking so long when the music began and the bridesmaids and groomsmen began making their way down the aisle, followed by Jen and Jude. Then came Jonesy and finally Nikki and Mr. Wong. They reached the alter and Mr. Wong let Nikki go. She smiled at Jonesy as the pastor stood and he smiled back.

The pastor motioned for the guests to be seated and then spoke in a loud, clear voice. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bear witness to the joining of Jonesy Salvador Garcia and Nicole Anne Wong. The couple has written their own vows, which they will recite now." He turned to Nikki and Jonesy and nodded.

Jonesy drew in a deep breath and began, "Nikki, from the moment we first met in kindergarten I have known that I loved you. You have always been there when I need you and you have proven yourself to be a strong and loyal friend. I promise that from this day forward, I will be just as strong and loyal and I too will always be there for you."

Nikki smiled and, choking back tears, recited her vows. "Jonesy, I never thought this day would come, never in my wildest dreams believed I could have you forever, but I can and nothing in this world brings me more joy. I have loved you since time began and even though you can be stubborn and immature I can't think of another person I would rather spend the rest of my life with. I promise to see you for who you are, to love you for who you are and to continue to be there for you no matter what happens."

The pastor took note of the vows and then continued with his bit. He looked at Nikki first and said, "Nicole Anne Wong do you take Jonesy Salvador Garcia to be your loftily wedded husband in good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Nikki answered, staring into Jonesy's eyes. The pastor nodded and turned to Jonesy.

"And do you, Jonesy Salvador Garcia take Nicole Anne Wong to be your loftily wedded wife in good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Jonesy answered, staring back into Nikki's eyes. The pastor nodded and turned back to the crowed. "These vows represent a sacred union between these two souls. If anyone sees any reason why these two should not be joined speak now or forever hold your peace." No one moved or spoke so the pastor continued. "Then by the power vested in me by the province of Ontario I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Jonesy grinned and lifted Nikki off her feet as he kissed her for the first time in two days. The crowed exploded in cheers and someone, probably Jude, blew a New Years noisemaker. All around them was chaos, but for the moment Nikki and Jonesy were blissfully unaware of it. All they knew was that they were married and that was all that mattered.

A short time later the new couple found themselves in the midst of their wedding reception which was just as extravagant as their parties had been. Sometime during the proceedings Jude stood to speak and silence fell over the crowed.

"Well, here we are dudes and dudettes." said Jude. "The joining of Jonesy and Nikki. I knew this day would come eventually and now that it has I'm kinda bummed. Jonesy and I have been best buds forever and I've seen him fail at almost everything but I know he won't fail at this. I'm bummed because now we don't get to just hang out and dick around, but seeing as it's Nikki who took him I gotta be happy. Congratulations and may your life together be the best ever."

The crowed broke into applause and then Jen stood. "I've gotta say I agree with Jude." she said. "I always had a feeling this would happen and I'm so glad it has. Nikki and Jonesy are made for each other and I wish them the best in their new life together. So here's to Nikki and Jonesy." She raised her glass and the others followed suit, Nikki and Jonesy smiling at all the people in their lives, glad to have shared this experience with all of them.

**A/N: Well there it is, Nikki and Jonesy are now married. It's not the best, I kinda suck at writing romantic stuff, which you may have noticed, especially if you've read my other fics. But on the whole, I think it went okay. Stay tuned, things are about to get good.**


	12. The Honeymoon

The following day Nikki and Jonesy prepared for their honeymoon. This was the part of marriage Nikki had looked forward to the least. It was not that she didn't want to spend time with just Jonesy, it was the fact that wherever they went it was bound to be rather expensive. As it turned out they were going to Hawaii, which Nikki found somewhat cliché, but Jonesy was excited so she did her best to keep her distaste hidden.

"Alright I think that's everything." Jonesy said as he loaded the last of their bags into the trunk of the car. Nikki nodded in agreement and turned to the others who had come to see them off.

"Well, I guess we're off." she said with a smile. "See you all in a week."

"Yeah, see ya later bra." said Jude, giving Jonesy a thumbs up and flashing a cheesy grin.

"Have a good time guys." said Jen. "And please, please don't do anything stupid." She looked at Jonesy as she finished her sentence and he glared at her.

"Don't worry Jen, I'll make sure he comes back in one piece." said Nikki. "I just married the idiot, I'm not about to let him kill himself. Anyway, see you later." Jen nodded and Nikki and Jonesy climbed into the car and took off, the others waving them on.

They arrived at the airport twenty minutes later and made their way to their terminal. It was still over an hour until their flight, so they grabbed something to eat and then checked in their baggage. Finally it was time to board the plane and once they were settled in their seats, Nikki turned to Jonesy, intent on finding out exactly why they were going to Hawaii.

"So, I've got a question, and I promise not be a bitch about it, but why exactly are we going to Hawaii?" Nikki asked, staring at Jonesy intently.

"Because we just got married and we're taking our honeymoon." Jonesy replied.

"I know that, you asshat." Nikki muttered, rolling her eyes. "What I meant was, we could have gone anywhere for our honeymoon why did we have to choose Hawaii?"

"I don't know, I thought you wanted to see Hawaii?" said Jonesy, glancing out the window.

"I, well okay I do, but it seems a bit cliché, don't you think?" Nikki asked.

Jonesy thought about it for a moment before answering. "Okay, I see your point." he conceded. "But I thought it would be nice to go somewhere neither of us had been before and the place I really wanted to take you was expensive as hell."

"Where did you want to take me?" Nikki asked, surprised Jonesy had chosen Hawaii as a second option.

"Well, I know you really want to go to Japan again, so I tried to get tickets for a flight there, but they're really fucking expensive." Jonesy replied. "Sorry."

Nikki smiled and kissed him. "See, this is why I married you." she said. "You always try to get outside of your comfort zone for me and I love that. And don't worry about Japan, we'll go there some other time." Jonesy smiled in relief. He was glad Nikki was happy and he knew he had married her for exactly the same reason.

Two days later, Nikki had decided that maybe Hawaii wasn't so cliché after all. She and Jonesy were having a blast and they still had five more days to play with. They had already been surfing and snorkeling and had plans to head to the big island the following day to visit the volcanoes. Nikki had never had so much fun and neither had Jonesy, which made the adventure all the more enjoyable. Despite all their plans for the rest of the week, they had one special activity in the works for that night. Jonesy had reserved them a table at a well known restaurant which Nikki had always wanted to visit, as a personal wedding gift to the woman he loved most.

"I still can't believe we're going to the Red Lantern." said Nikki, as they left the hotel. "It's the best Japanese restaurant on Oahu. I've been dying to go there for ages."

"Well, you know I'd do anything for you baby." said Jonesy with a grin. "Also, the look on your face when I told you was priceless."

"Shut up." Nikki muttered, slugging him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Jonesy yelped. "What have I told you about hitting me?"

"That it's a turn on and you love it." Nikki answered, with a sly smirk. Jonesy glanced at her and grinned too. He knew she was just joking and that he deserved all the shit she flung at him, given that he had been flinging shit at her since they were little.

They arrived at the Red Lantern twenty minutes later and made their way inside. Once they were seated Jonesy ordered a bottle of the best Saki in the house and set about finding something on the menu he could eat. Jonesy was not particularly fond of sushi, having worked for the sushi joint at the mall, but he knew sushi was not the only food Japanese people ate. He just had to find something he liked or try something he had never eaten before.

An hour later, having ordered and finished their food, Jonesy and Nikki decided to get some desert before heading back to the hotel. Nikki motioned to one of the waitresses, but just as she reached their table three man in black ski masks burst into the dining area and opened fire. Jonesy dove to the side and knocked the waitress out of the way just as a bullet whizzed past the table. Seconds later restaurant security burst in from the back and engaged the masked men, but one slipped past heading for the back. Jonesy leaped and grabbed the man from behind, locking him in a half nelson as he did. The man rolled and slammed Jonesy into a table, loosening his grip, but Jonesy kicked the man in the knee as he tried to run. Before the man had a chance to recover, security was on him and had him restrained with his companions.

One of the security guards helped Jonesy to his feet, brushing dust off his jacket as he did. "Thanks for the help sir." the security guard said, nodding at Jonesy.

"Yeah, no problem." said Jonesy. "Any idea who these guys are?"

"They look like members of one of the local gangs to me." the security guard replied.

Jonesy nodded. "You hear that Nikki, I helped take out gangsters." said Jonesy, turning back towards his table. "Nikki?" Jonesy froze in horror as his eyes found the sight at his table. Nikki lay on the floor, blood pooling beneath her from the four gunshot wounds in her chest. "Oh God, Nikki!"


	13. The Hand Of Death

The doors of the hospital flew open as two paramedics burst through pushing a stretcher carrying Nikki's bloody body. Jonesy followed closely behind them, barely keeping himself from breaking down. He had no idea what he should do, his wife had just been shot and he was uncertain if she was going to be okay. All Jonesy knew for sure was he had to find a way to ensure Nikki survived.

"We got a bad one here!" one of the paramedics shouted, racing past other patients. A doctor rushed forward to assist, intent on relieving the paramedics.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, glancing at the paramedics.

"There was a shootout at the Red Lantern." one of the paramedics replied. "Several casualties, more are coming in." The doctor nodded and motioned for assistance. Two nurses stepped forward to help and the paramedics turned to leave. Jonesy moved forward as well but the doctor stopped him.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to wait here." the doctor said, staring at Jonesy.

"But she's my wife." said Jonesy. "Please let me stay with her." The doctor opened his mouth to argue but Nikki beat him to the punch.

"Jonesy." she croaked. "Go on I'll...I'll be...okay." She looked into his eyes and Jonesy nodded.

The doctor nodded as well and looked at Jonesy. "Don't worry son, we'll take care of her." he said, his voice reassuring. "Okay let's get her to surgery."

Jonesy stood in silence and watched them leave before whipping out his phone and dialing the first number that came to his mind. He had to tell someone and she seemed like the best option at this juncture.

Back at home the rest of the gang were gathered at the Masterson-Garcia house for a game and movie night. At the moment they were in the middle of a game of poker, a very heated game of poker, which Jen was currently winning. "Alright, top this hand." Jen said, triumphantly laying her cards on the table to grones from the others.

"Oh come on man!" said Jude banging his head against the table. "That's like the sixth hand in a row! I swear to God she's cheating."

"Don't hate the player, hate the-" Jen's sentence was cut short by her phone. "Hold on, let me get that." She stood and left the room before answering.

"Hello?" Jen asked, answering the phone.

"Jen, something horrible has happened." Jonesy's voice answered.

"Jonesy?" Jen asked. "What do you mean something horrible has happened? What are you talking about?"

"We were at dinner and Nikki-" Jonesy began, but he couldn't continue.

"What about Nikki?" Jen asked. "Jonesy what did she do?"

"She...she...Jen, Nikki was shot." Jonesy finally choked out. "These guys in ski masks burst into the restaurant and shot up the place and Nikki took four bullets in the chest."

Jen froze at these words, unsure how to react to this news. She had expecting Jonesy to say something like Nikki had gotten drunk and danced naked on the beach or something, not that she had been shot. For a second there was silence and then Jen remembered she was on the phone. "Okay Jonesy don't panic." she said. "We'll be down there as soon as we can catch a flight."

"Thank you Jen, get here soon." Jonesy said. "I don't know how much longer I can go before I totally break down." They hung up and Jen turned and headed back into the living room. For a moment, she just stood there staring at the others, unsure how to break Jonesy's news to them. Fortunately she was saved the trouble of coming up with a way by Jude, who chose that moment to glance over at her.

"Jen, you okay bra?" Jude asked, his voice drawing the attention of the others. Jen simply stared at them, her face blank with the shock of what she had just learned.

"Jen?" Caitlin asked. "Jen, who was that on the phone?"

Jen shook her head and looked directly at Caitlin. "It was Jonesy, Nikki's been shot." she replied, her voice hollow.

"No!" Caitlin shouted, her eyes going wide in shock.

"Oh God." said Wyatt. "How? When?"

"Just a short time ago from what I can tell." Jen replied. "Jonesy said they were at dinner and some men came in and shot up the place. Nikki got caught in the middle."

"What about Jonesy, is he okay?" Caitlin asked, her eyes still glued to Jen's face.

"He's freaking out." said Jen. "He didn't say if he was injured, but I think he's physically okay. It doesn't matter though, we need to tell his dad and the Wong's and then get our asses down to Hawaii." The others nodded and they moved out, leaving the games behind.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital things were not looking good for Nikki. The doctors were having trouble getting the last bullet out and she was losing blood at an alarming rate. If they were not able to stop the bleeding soon, she was not going to make it.

"Damn it!" the doctor shouted. "I can't get at the last bullet and we've got to get her bleeding stopped."

One of the nurses assisting nodded and moved to get more gauze, but it was already too late. Nikki gave a violent jolt and gasped as blood filled her lungs. A second later her heart monitor flat-lined and her body went limp

"Shit, paddles!" the doctor shouted, as another nurse rushed out of the room. A second later, she returned with a crash cart and the doctor took the paddles. He placed them on Nikki's chest and shouted, "CLEAR!" Nikki's body gave a jolt but nothing happened. "Again, clear" the doctor shouted, again no response.

At that same moment, Nikki found herself staring at her own blood covered body lying on an operating table. For a second she was perplexed, unable to grasp what was happening and then it hit her. She was detaching from her body, she was passing into the Ghost World. The last thing she heard was the muffled voice of the doctor saying "come on damn it" and then she saw the bleak, black death of the other side.

A second later, Nikki caught a glimpse of a tall man in a black suit and then she felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked at the man, knowing before she asked who he was. "David Luminous?" she breathed. "That means I'm in the Ghost World, which means-" Luminous silenced her before she could finish her sentence.

"No, Nikki you are not dead." Luminous said, answering her unfinished question. "This is just a glitch in the system. It is not yet your time and you will return to your body in less than a minute." He smiled at her and a second later she felt the pressure of his hand between her shoulder blades. A second later she felt herself enter her body again and she awoke, gasping before slipping out of consciousness once again.

A short time later one of the nurses came to the lobby looking for Jonesy. He noticed her and hurried over to hear what she had to say. "What's the news?" he asked. "Is my wife alright?"

"It was tense for a few minutes, but she's stable now." the nurse replied, not meeting Jonesy's eyes. Jonesy picked up on this and knew not all was well. He had seen enough medical dramas to know that whenever the doctor did not make eye contact there was still bad news.

"There's something you're not telling me." he said, looking at the nurse. "What's wrong with my wife?"

The nurse looked at him a moment before answering. "Your wife is stable, but there is a problem. We did everything we could, but it wasn't enough." She was silent a moment before continuing. "Your wife is in a coma and we don't know if she'll wake up." Jonesy simply stared at her, too shocked to speak and too numb to notice that the tears had finally begun to fall.

**A/N: See, I told you things were gonna get good. In case you're wondering just who in the hell David Luminous is, he's my version of the Angel of Death. Also, the Ghost World is the bridge between our world and the afterlife. If you want to know more about both, read my TDI fic.**


	14. 21 Days, pt1

"And they don't have any idea when she'll wake up?" Wyatt asked, glancing at Jonesy. It was the day after the shooting at the Red Lantern and the others had just recently arrived in Hawaii to lend their support. Wyatt, Jen, Caitlin, and Jude had been joined by Marlowe, Starr, Diego, Robbie, Courtney, Mr. Garcia, Mrs. Masterson, and Mr. and Mrs. Wong. At the moment they were in the middle of being updated on Nikki's condition by Jonesy.

"No, they don't have any idea." Jonesy replied, not meeting Wyatt's gaze. "They don't even know if she'll wake up."

"Don't worry Jonesy, Nikki will be okay, I'm sure of it." said Jen, patting her step brother on the shoulder.

"How can you say that with such confidence?" Jonesy asked, staring at Jen. "They don't even know what made her go comatose in the first fucking place, and they're fucking doctors. What makes you so sure she'll come back to us?"

"I don't know Jonesy, I can't explain it." said Jen. "I just have this feeling that she'll come back. What else can I, can we, do but have faith?"

"Jen is right Jonesy." said Mr. Wong. "It terrifies me to see my daughter lying there, so helpless and fragile, but I can't, for one second allow myself to think she won't wake up, because if I do I'll lose all hope and that can't happen. Nikki wouldn't give up on any of us."

Jonesy looked at Mr. Wong with a sudden newfound respect. He had always know how much the Wong's loved their daughter, but he had never known just how deep that love was. Jonesy could not understand why this had never occurred to him before, but in that moment he knew he would never look at Mr. Wong the same again. From this day forward he would see his father-in-law as great man, not as the embarrassment Nikki had always seen her parents as. And he knew that if Mr. Wong could be strong enough to not lose hope than he could too.

"You're right." Jonesy said, his voice hollow and horse. "You're all right. If we give up hope now there's no going back, but if we hold on to that hope we can get through this and we will get Nikki back."

"That's the Jonesy we know and love." said Jude. "We will be here for you the whole time dude. Nikki is our family and we are hers and family never abandons family." Jonesy nodded and stood before heading towards Nikki's room.

"Jonesy, where are going?" Caitlin asked, getting to her feet as well.

"I'm going to tell Nikki we're not giving up hope." Jonesy replied, walking out of the room without a backwards glance.

He entered Nikki's room a moment later and made his way over to her bed. "Hey babe." he said, looking at her pale face. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I just want you to know that I'm not giving up on you. I'll find a way to get you back no matter what it takes." He bent down and kissed her on the lips and then turned to leave, only to find the others standing in the doorway. He looked at them and smiled, glad to have them with him. Jonesy knew that with all of them there, there was nothing they couldn't do, but he had no idea just how trying the next three weeks would be.

Two days later Mr. Garcia, Mrs. Masterson, and Mr. and Mrs. Wong headed back home, as they had to get back to work. Courtney, Diego, and Robbie would leave with them, but the others would all stay. "I'm sorry we can't stay here for you longer Jonesy." said Mr. Garcia, looking his eldest son in the eye.

"No dad, I understand." said Jonesy. "You've gotta get back for work, it's okay. It's not like I'll be alone I still have the gang to keep me company." Mr. Garcia nodded, and Jonesy turned his attention to the Wong's. "I promise you'll be the first to know if anything changes." he said.

"Thank you Jonesy." said Mrs. Wong. "I always knew you were the right man for Nikki." Jonesy nodded and hugged her before turning back to the gang.

"I don't know when we'll make it back, but we'll stay in contact." said Jen, looking at her mother and elder sister, who both nodded to show they understood.

Diego looked at his brother and smiled. "Whatever happens Jonesy, I just want you to know that Nikki is the best sister-in-law me and Robbie could ever have. I hope she makes it."

"You and me both bro." said Jonesy. "And, thank you for that, it means a lot." Diego nodded and turned to leave, followed by the others leaving Jonesy, Jen, Wyatt, Caitlin, Jude, Starr, and Marlowe to watch over Nikki.

For the next four days, the gang kept a near constant vigil at Nikki's bedside, with at least two of them present at all times. The hope they held for her return burned strong in those first few days, but as more and more time slipped by the flame began die. Still, they would not give up hope, Nikki would come back to them and they would once again be a whole family. But sometimes hope is not enough and fate has other plans.


	15. 21 Days, pt2

A week and a half after the shooting, the hope that had once been so strong in gang, was now faltering with each passing minute. But Jonesy would not give up, he had made a promise to himself that no matter what the others believed, he would never give up hope. His obsession with finding a way to get Nikki back was beginning to worry the others, particularly Jen and Starr who knew it wasn't healthy for him to hold on like this. Unfortunately, every time they tried to talk to him about it he would blow them off and tell them they were wrong. Finally, at the two week mark, Jen got the others together to discuss what they should do.

"Alright Jen, what is it you want to discuss without Jonesy?" Wyatt asked, once they were all gathered in Jen's room at the hotel they had booked.

Jen hesitated for a second before beginning. "Well, we need to talk about Jonesy and I think we may also need to begin to face th possibility Nikki isn't going to wake up."

The others stared at her a moment, not sure they could believe what she was saying. "Hold on, I thought you were the one who said we should have faith?" said Marlowe. Jen nodded. "What changed your mind?" Marlowe continued, staring at Jen.

"It's been two weeks and I'm not sure if we can hold out hope much longer." Jen replied.

"Yeah, but people have come out of comas after more than two weeks, right?" asked Jude, glancing around the room.

"Yes, but in most of those cases, the cause of the coma was known." replied Starr. "Look, I'm not saying I don't want Nikki to wake up, but I agree with Jen, it doesn't seem like she will."

"Okay, so lets say, hypothetically that she doesn't wake up, what are we supposed to do then?" Wyatt asked. "Do we just let her lay in a hospital bed for all eternity or do we make the decision none of us wants to make? Because either idea seems pretty shitty to me, and it's not really our decision anyway, it's Jonesy's."

"Yeah, but Jonesy isn't thinking straight at the moment." said Jen. "He's-" The creak of the door opening cut her short.

"I'm what Jen?" Jonesy's voice asked, making Jen spin to face him. "I'm what? Crazy? Is that what you were gonna call me?"

"No, Jonesy, I wasn't-" Jen began, but Jonesy cut her off again.

"Save it!" he snapped. "I know what you all are thinking. You're thinking it's time to give up, that it's time to forget about Nikki. Well fuck that. She's our friend and my wife and I will not give up hope no matter what you fuckers think."

"Jonesy, no." said Caitlin. "We weren't saying that, it's just it's been two weeks and the doctors say they don't think she's gonna wake up. And Jen and Starr have done all kinds of research and it all says the same thing."

"I don't give a shit what the research says and I don't give a shit what the fucking doctors say either." Jonesy growled.

"Jonesy dude, don't do this, don't turn us into the enemy." said Jude. "We're here to help you man, not hurt you."

"Then why does it feel like you are?" Jonesy asked, tears now beginning to fall. "She's my wife damn it and she's your friend. You can't just give up on her and cast her aside like she's trash, you stupid assholes." He looked at them for a moment, but none of them moved. "Fuck you guys." Jonesy muttered before storming out of the room without a backwards glance.

For three days, none of them saw Jonesy, as he spent all his time holed up in his hotel room, refusing to answer their calls. Finally, Jude managed to worm his way into Jonesy's room, finding him sitting amongst a pile of soda cans and beer bottles.

"Shit dude, what have you been doing in here?" Jude asked, staring at his best friend.

"Trying to drown out the memories of the assholes who used to be my friends." Jonesy muttered, not looking at Jude.

"Jonesy come on man, you know we weren't trying to attack you." said Jude.

Jonesy finally looked at him, tears in his eyes again. "Yeah, I know." he muttered. "It's just, the way Jen was talking about Nikki, it made me think that you guys had completely given up on her."

"Dude, do you really think we'd give up all hope of getting Nikki back?" Jude asked, cocking an eyebrow. "She'd skin us alive for that."

Jonesy chuckled and a grin crossed his face. "Yeah, she would wouldn't she?" he mused. "She'd also skin me alive for acting like such an asshole." Jude nodded and turned to leave. Jonesy smiled as Jude left, knowing he now had to apologize to the others. But before he did that, he had to go talk to Nikki.

Jonesy made his way to the hospital and entered Nikki's room a few moments later. He sat down next the bed and sighed trying to decide how tell her how big of an idiot he was. He decided to go with the straightforward approach, as that was the way she liked things.

"Well, Nik I have proven once again that I am a colossal fucking dumbass." Jonesy began. "I got all pissed of at the others because I thought they had lost their faith in you, but Jude reminded me that they would never do something so stupid. I guess it just proves that I'm nothing but a bumbling fool without you."

He sat for a moment staring at her before getting up to leave. As he stood though, something happened he had not expected. There was a flicker of movement in Nikki's eyes and then a voice he hadn't heard in nearly a month asked, "Jonesy?"

**A/N: Well, there you go, now you know for sure what my plans were. I decided when I started writing this fic that I wasn't gonna kill anybody off, or at least that's what I keep telling myself. Anyway, tune in next time to find out exactly what happens now that Nikki is awake. Until then, enjoy.**


	16. Welcome Back To Life

"Nikki?" Jonesy asked, his eyes going wide. For a second he simply stared at her, waiting for her to speak again.

"Jonesy, is that you?" Nikki asked, after a moment of silence.

"Yeah Nik, it's me." Jonesy replied, barely able to contain his excitement. He moved over to her bed and smiled at her. "Welcome back." he whispered.

Nikki smiled back weakly and tried to sit up, but Jonesy pushed her back down. "Whoa, don't go jumping up to hug me, you've just come out of a coma." Jonesy said. "Let me go get a doctor and then we can do this." Nikki gave a small nod and Jonesy tore from the room, returning moments later with the doctor who had saved Nikki's life.

"Well now, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" the doctor asked. "Welcome back Ms. Garcia, you gave your friends quite a scare." He smiled and approached the bed. "I'm just gonna do a couple of quick tests to make sure your in working order and then I'll let you two talk."

Nikki gave another nod and the doctor set to work, checking everything from Nikki's eye movement to the way her muscles responded to pressure and pain. Finally, after an hour's worth of tests the doctor turned to Jonesy, a smile on his face. "Well, it looks like everything is working condition. Your wife is going to be just fine, though we should probably keep her here for a week or two just to make sure."

Jonesy nodded and the doctor left, leaving Jonesy and Nikki to talk. For a moment Jonesy just stared at her, still too overcome with joy to speak.

"So, how long was I out?" Nikki asked, breaking the silence.

"Twenty-one days." Jonesy replied. "The doctors didn't know if you were ever going to wake up." For a second he was silent and then he broke down, the joy finally overtaking him. "Oh Nikki, I was so scared." Jonesy sobbed. "I don't know what I would have done if you...if you had, you know. The others thought you weren't gonna make it and I acted like such an asshole to them and now you're back and-" Nikki silenced him with a kiss.

"Shhh, Jonesy don't worry." she said, her voice soothing. "It's okay now, I'm back and everything is going to be okay. And don't worry about the others, they'll forgive you."

Jonesy nodded, he knew this was true, Jude had already forgiven him and the others would too. He shook his head, wiping tears from his face and then looked back at Nikki. "So, do you remember what happened?" he asked, watching her intently.

"I remember being at the restaurant, men in black ski masks, and then it gets a little fuzzy." Nikki replied. "I vaguely remember the pain."

"So you know you were shot then?" Jonesy asked, still watching her intently.

"Yeah." Nikki answered. They fell silent once again, Nikki looking out the window at the palm trees waving in the wind. Jonesy continued to watch her, aware that there was something she wasn't telling him. For the next few minutes they just sat and then Nikki turned her gaze back towards Jonesy, her eyes haunted.

"Nikki, what's wrong?" Jonesy asked, taken aback by the fear in her eyes.

"I crossed over Jonesy." Nikki replied, her haunted eyes boring into his.

"You crossed-what?" Jonesy asked, changing course mid-sentence as he tried to comprehend what Nikki had just said.

"I crossed over." Nikki repeated. "I died, my soul detached from my body and I entered the Ghost World. David Luminous sent me back."

Jonesy stared at Nikki in disbelief. "Wait, you-you, I am so fucking confused right now." he spluttered. "You died and came back, how is that even possible?"

"I told you, David Luminous sent me back." Nikki replied. "He's the Angel of Death."

"Oh." said Jonesy, realization suddenly hitting him. "Well that's-" A sudden knock at the door cut his sentence short. "What the hell?" Jonesy made his way over to the door and wrenched it open to find the others standing in the hall. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

"The hospital called and told us Nikki was awake." Wyatt answered. "We came down to say hi and see how she's doing."

"Oh, well come on in then." said Jonesy, standing aside to let them in. The others entered and made their way over to Nikki, who grinned at them.

"Hey, Nik welcome back to life." said Jude, with a grin. "How're you doing bra?"

"Oh, pretty good, I guess." Nikki replied. "It's good to be back at any rate."

"Yeah, I bet it is." said Wyatt. "You scared the shit out of us."

"Sorry about that." said Nikki, with a grin. "Who knew getting shot four times could be so dramatic?" The others chuckled at her joke and Jen gave her a hug.

"It's good to have you back Nikki, I couldn't imagine life without you." Jen said, and Nikki nodded. She was glad to be back too.

**A/N: As with the Hunted, I'm sorry about the wait on this chapter. It really sucks not having a reliable internet connection when you're right in the middle of updating fics. But I'm back at my dorm now, so the updating every other day schedual will resume, starting today. **


	17. You Gotta Make The Good Times Last

Jonesy stayed at the hospital that night, crashing in a chair one of the nurses brought in for him. He didn't sleep much though, mostly he just sat there and watched Nikki sleep. The shock of the last couple of weeks still weighed heavily on Jonesy's shoulders and he was afraid that if he went to sleep he would wake up and find out Nikki was still in a coma. He knew this was an irrational fear, but he was convinced it would happen so he didn't sleep.

The others had left several hours earlier, returning to the hotel in high spirits. Jen was the most relieved, glad for once that she had been wrong. She had been so convinced they had lost Nikki for good, but Jonesy had been right, Nikki had come back. Six years ago Jen would never have admitted it, but she was glad Jonesy had proven her wrong, losing Nikki was something Jen never wanted to be right about. Later that night, Jen called home to let everyone else know the good news. To her great surprise, Mr. Wong told her he, Mrs. Wong, and the Masterson-Garcia clan would be joined by Ron, Coach Halder, Darth, Julie, Wayne, and the Clones when they returned to Hawaii. Jen smiled to herself as she got ready for bed, there really were a lot of people who cared about Nikki.

The next morning the gang returned to the hospital to find Nikki awake and Jonesy snoring loudly in his chair. Nikki flashed them a grin and Caitlin flashed one back. Jen smiled as well and nodded at Jonesy, which only made Nikki's smile widen.

"How're you doing this morning?" Jen asked, sitting down on the edge of Nikki's bed.

"Good, I guess." Nikki replied. "It still hurts a bit, but otherwise I'm okay."

"That's good." said Jen. "Do you know when they're gonna let you out of here?"

"Sometime in the next day or two, I hope." Nikki replied. "I hate hospitals, you know. They just reek of death and other things I'd rather not talk about."

"Yeah, well sometimes you have to deal with things you don't like." said Jude. "That's the way of life, bra."

Nikki rolled her eyes and glared at Jude. "I still don't like them." she muttered. Jude shrugged and smiled. He was too happy to have Nikki back to argue the point, and arguing went against his basic philosophies on life anyway.

Just then there was a knock at the door and Jen got up to answer, opening the door to find Nikki's parents, her mom, Jonesy's dad, Courtney, Diego, Robbie, Emma, Ron, Coach, Darth, Julie, Wayne, and the Clones waiting in the hall. "Welcome, come on in." Jen said, with a smile.

The group shuffled in, to gasps and shocked looks from the others. "Whoa, wait why are all of you dudes here?" Jude asked, staring at Ron.

"Jen called last night and told us Nikki was awake so we hopped on the first plane we could get tickets for." Mr. Garcia replied.

"Oh." said Jude. "But why is Ron here? And Coach Halder? And Wayne?"

"We care about Nikki too son." said Ron. "Mr. Wong invited us to come along, so we did."

"But who's looking after the mall?" Caitlin asked, eying Ron.

"I think the mall can survive a couple days without it's most loyal employees Caitlin." said Coach Halder, with a chuckle. Caitlin nodded and turned back to Nikki, who was beaming at the crowd gathered around her, her eyes focused on her parents.

"How are you honey?" Mrs. Wong asked, leaning in to hug her daughter.

"I'm good." Nikki replied, embracing her mother.

"We were so worried." Mrs. Wong said, holding Nikki close. "When the doctors told us you were in a coma, your father and I didn't know what to think. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Mrs. Wong shook as the tears began to fall, her joy overwhelming her.

"Oh mom, it's okay." Nikki said, patting her mother on the back. "I'm okay, everything is going to be okay." Mrs. Wong released her and stepped back, sniffing, but reassured. The others were just as reassured, but all of them had something to say.

Diego and Robbie stepped forward first, Diego staring at Jonesy's unconscious form. "Hey, Jonesy!" he shouted. "Wake up you fart-knocker."

Jonesy snapped awake and yelped, nearly falling out of his chair. "W-what? What are-when did all of you people get here?" he asked, staring wide eyed around the room.

"Good to see you too Jonesy." Wayne muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Jen called last night and we arrived this morning." Mr. Garcia said, smiling at his eldest son's state of utter bewilderment.

"Oh okay, I get it, you're all here because of Nikki." said Jonesy. "That makes sense."

"Well, duh." said Robbie, a grin cracking his face. "What'd you think we were here for, the tropical Hawaiian climate?" Jonesy glared at him and turned his attention to Nikki.

"So, anyway, before my brother can fall asleep again, we've all got something we'd like to say." said Diego. "Me and Robbie, and I think Courtney and Emma too, just want to say we're glad you're back Nikki. It would really suck to get an awesome sister-in-law like you only to lose her a month later." Nikki smiled and nodded.

"Coach Halder and I have a few words to say too." said Ron. "I know I may not have been the best of friends with you six years ago, but you have always been my favorite group of maggots and the group just wouldn't be the same without Nikki, considering she keeps that one in line." He glanced at Jonesy and grinned.

"And we just want to say we're glad you pulled through, past hostilities not withstanding." said Chrissy, while Kristen and Kirsten smiled.

"Same goes for me." said Wayne. Darth and Julie nodded in agreement.

"And we," said Wyatt, nodding at Jen, Caitlin, Jonesy, and Jude, "we are more happy than anyone else here, save your parents. Because you Nikki, you are what keeps this gang together and if you die, we die with you."

"Thank you, all of you." said Nikki, tears glistening in her eyes. "It means so much to me to know that I have so many people who care. I am truly grateful to have all of you in my life."

The others all beamed at Nikki's words of gratitude. It had been an emotional roller-coaster ride for all of them over the last month or so. First Jonesy's proposal, the absolute high of his and Nikki's wedding, the shooting at the Red Lantern, the low of nearly losing Nikki, the depression of the last twenty-one days, and now the high of getting Nikki back. Looking back on it all, all of them knew they had emerged on the other side as better people.

"Wow." Jonesy said, about an hour later. "Has it really been over a month since the wedding? I can't believe it. We've been married for over a month and we haven't got to enjoy most of it. Life threw a bad curve-ball in our path and we had to adjust to the changes. But you know what, I've learned a lot from this experience. Life isn't easy and sometimes things happen that we can't control. We come into the world with such grand expectations and we rarely live up to them, but sometimes we get exactly what we're looking for. And then life tries to take it all away." He paused and looked around the room. "I guess it just goes to show that when given the chance, you gotta make the good times last."


	18. Discharged

Nikki's hope of being discharged in the near future was dashed during a meeting with the doctor the following day. Despite her protests, the doctor wanted to keep her there for at least another week, just to make absolutely sure she was okay. Finally, after a tearful argument with Jonesy and her parents, Nikki grudgingly agreed to stay. It wasn't like she really had much choice in the matter anyway, as she was confined to a bed with four partially healed gunshot wounds in her chest, and thus was unable to make Jonesy bend to her wishes. Despite this, she vowed to make Jonesy pay for making her stay in the hospital, a threat that had not fazed Jonesy as he pointed out she had to be alive and well to carry it out.

However, just because he had forced his wife to remain bed-ridden in a hospital did not mean that Jonesy would not do everything in his power to keep her happy. He and the others visited her every day, and Jonesy went out of his way to do things for her. Nikki appreciated their love and was glad to have their company. By the fourth day after Nikki's awakening, the group was back to the gang, Marlowe, and Starr, as family members and other friends had been forced to return home by work and other such activities. Still Nikki was in high spirits despite her situation. This had been the first major incident the group had endured and Nikki was proud to say she had made it out alive on the other side. Still, she could not keep her dislike of hospitals contained for long.

"God, has it been a fucking week yet?" she asked, five days after her awakening.

"Sorry Nik, it's only been five days." said Jen, ignoring the dark look Nikki cast at her.

"And you have to remember, you may be here more than a week." said Caitlin.

"Don't remind me of that." Nikki moaned. "One week is bad enough, to know that I may have to stay here even longer is just shit."

"Yeah, well you got shot, this is what happens when people get shot and survive." said Jen, rolling her eyes at Nikki's whining. Nikki glared at her, but did not comment.

"Okay, I've got a solution to this whole problem." said Jude. "Either you can dwell on the negatives and sit here in misery, or you can focus on the positives and accept that even though you don't like hospitals, at least you're alive. You know what I'm saying bra?"

Nikki glared at him, her annoyance peaking. Still, she could not argue with Jude's logic as he did bring up a very good point. She was alive and regardless of how much she disliked them, she could not deny that it was because of a hospital that she was. And all of these negative thoughts could not be good for her recovery. Nikki smiled to herself as she realized that Jude had once again used his mellow approach to life to solve a problem, an action which never ceased to amaze her.

"Okay, Jude I see your point." Nikki conceded, with a smile.

"That's good." said Jude, with a grin. "Cuz negative emotions are the source of all that's unpleasant in the world."

"Jude, I swear you should be a fucking guru or something." Jonesy muttered.

"Uh, he tried the already remember?" said Wyatt. "And if I recall, the results were not all that great."

"Yeah, but that was six years ago, Jude's matured since then, I think." said Jonesy, glancing at Wyatt, who glanced at Jude. Jonesy followed Wyatt's gaze, finding Jude staring aimlessly out the window, his eyes glazed over.

"Oh yeah, he's matured greatly in six years." Wyatt muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"Alright you two, stop picking on Jude." Starr scolded, her eyes narrowing.

"Huh, what, did somebody say something?" Jude asked, the sound of his name bringing him out of his reverie.

"Don't worry about it baby." said Starr, wrapping her arms around his waist. Jude smiled and Jonesy gave him a wink.

"Well, we should probably get going, before Jude and Starr turn your room into a scene from a bad porno." Jonesy said, looking at Nikki. Jude and Starr glared at him, to which Jonesy responded with a grin.

"Okay, if you have too." said Nikki, with a glum look on her face.

"Don't worry Nik, we'll be back tomorrow." said Jonesy, leaning in to kiss her. "Have a good night honey."

"You too." said Nikki. "See you tomorrow." Jonesy smiled and he and the others left, leaving Nikki to flip through the TV until sleep overtook her.

Six days later, at the week and a half mark the doctor stopped by shortly after Jonesy and the others had arrived. The doctor smiled as he entered the room, all of them returning the favor. He walked over to Nikki's bed and pulled up a chair.

"How are all of you doing this morning?" the doctor asked, glancing around the room.

"We're doing good, thank you." Jen answered, with another smile.

"That's good." the doctor said. "I don't mean to be all secretive, but would the rest of you mind stepping outside for a moment so I could have a private word with Nikki and Jonesy?"

"Sure." said Wyatt. He glanced at Jonesy before continuing. "We'll be out in the hall when you're done." Jonesy nodded and the others left the room.

As soon as they were gone, Jonesy turned the doctor. "Alright, lay it on us doc, what did you want to discuss?"

"Well," the doctor began, "I said I wanted to keep Nikki here for a week or so for observation and well, it's been a week and a half and she's doing very well, so I think it's time for you to get out of here." He smiled, awaiting their response.

Nikki smiled and Jonesy sighed. They looked at one another, Nikki's smile widening. "I take it this is good news?" the doctor asked, his smile widening as well.

"This is excellent news." said Nikki, tears of joy beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Well, I'm glad I could brighten your day then." the doctor replied. "Now there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Your wounds and the surgical scars aren't completely healed yet, so it's important to keep them protected. Also, you've still got a week left on the antibiotics you were given after surgery, so you'll need to finish those up. And finally, try to refrain from too much stressful activity for a couple more days. Other than that, you're good to go, it was a pleasure to treat you." He smiled again and got to his feet. "I'll let you get ready and then I'll send a nurse up to get you checked out."

"Thank you, for everything." said Jonesy, as the doctor made his way to the door.

"You're very welcome." the doctor replied. "But remember Jonesy, you and you're friends are the real reason she pulled through. I just fixed her up, it was your support and love that got her through this ordeal." He smiled one last time and then exited.

Nikki and Jonesy stared at each other for a moment and then Jonesy moved to help Nikki out of her bed. She smiled as he helped her get dressed, enjoying the warmth of his touch for the first time in over a month. The others poked their heads in just as a nurse arrived to check Nikki out. Jude grinned at Jonesy and Caitlin gave them both a thumbs up. Jen, Wyatt, Marlowe, and Starr just smiled, too happy to think of anything else to do.

Moments later, the gang found themselves on the ground floor of the hospital, heading for the exit. Nikki sat in a wheelchair, per hospital policy, and the others walked in a tight formation around her, Jonesy pushing the chair. Nurses and doctors cheered them as they reached the exit, glad to see another patient successfully cured by their hospital. Nikki couldn't help smiling as Jonesy helped her into the car. It had been a very tough and harrowing experience for her, but Nikki truly believed that she and the others were better for having survived it. But at this moment, the only thing she really cared about was the fact that she was leaving the hospital, for what she hoped was the last time.


	19. The Plan

The day after Nikki was discharged from the hospital, the gang found themselves at the hotel with nothing to do. None of them were ready to head home, but none of them knew quite what to do either. Jonesy knew that he wanted his and Nikki's honeymoon to continue, but he didn't want to have to tell the others to leave. It was a problem none of them had ever thought they would be faced with, what do eight friends do in Hawaii? Complicating the issue was the fact that, though she was out of the hospital, Nikki still needed to take it easy for a few more days. Despite this, the gang was determined to find a way to spend the next six days, no matter what.

"So, here we are, sitting in a hotel in Hawaii. What are we gonna do?" Wyatt asked, looking around the room.

"Well we've got quite a few options really." said Jen. "I know Nikki and Jonesy had plans to head over to the big island to see the volcanoes, but I don't know if that's a good idea now."

"Yeah, probably not." said Nikki. "We'd have to catch a plane over there and I don't think I'm up for flying just yet."

"Still, even with that option eliminated, we have a lot of things we could do." said Jen.

"Well, there is a good rock climbing spot not far from here, according to one of the brochures in the lobby." said Marlowe.

"I'd be game for that." said Jen, glancing at Marlowe and smiling. It was obvious that she had seen the brochure too and that she had been hoping someone would mention it.

"Yeah, I'm down with that action." said Jude, glancing at Starr, who nodded.

"I don't know." said Wyatt. "What about Nikki, what's she supposed to do while the rest of us are up climbing on rocks?"

"Ah, a good point." said Jonesy, who did not look thrilled by the idea of doing something in which one of them was unable to participate. "I mean, under normal circumstances I'd be all for this, but I was kinda hoping we'd do something Nikki could participate in, you know?"

"It's okay Jonesy, if you guys want to go rock climbing, I'm fine with it." said Nikki. "Besides, I can still come along, even if I can't climb."

"But will you have any fun?" Jonesy asked, looking at her skeptically.

"I don't know, does it matter?" Nikki asked.

"Yes it fucking matters." said Jonesy, trying to keep his voice level. "It's not fair that the rest of us get to have fun and you don't."

"Well, Jonesy, I was shot." said Nikki. "It takes a little while to fully recover from that and I don't see how it's fair for the rest of you to have to sit on your asses doing nothing just because I'm a bit limited right now."

Jonesy opened his mouth to argue, but stopped at the look on Nikki's face. He sighed, she was right, of course. It wasn't fair to him or the others to not be able to do what they wanted, just because of Nikki being shot. But it still wasn't fair to her either. Still, Jonesy could find no way to argue his point without making himself sound like an ass, so he let the issue die.

"Okay, we'll go rock climbing, if that's really what everybody wants to do." Jonesy muttered, casting a dark look at Jen and Marlowe.

"Well that settles that." said Caitlin. "And don't worry Jonesy, Nikki won't be alone. I have no plans on climbing up anything."

"Aww, come on Cait." said Jude. "It's not that scary...I think."

"No, absolutely not." said Caitlin. "Not even if you paid me all the money in the world."

"Alright, your loss bra." said Jude, with a shrug.

"So, when are we gonna do this?" Wyatt asked, scanning the room again.

"How about we go tomorrow?" Starr suggested, glancing at Wyatt.

"Tomorrow sounds good to me." said Wyatt, glancing at the others, who all nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then the plan is set." said Jen. "At least for now, anyway. But we can figure out what to do after the rock climbing later."

With that, the group dispersed, each of them heading off to find something to do. Wyatt and Marlowe headed into town to search for music shops. Jude and Starr headed to the hotel pool for some private time. Jen went to get some rock climbing gear. Caitlin decided to join her, as long as they went to some other stores too. And Jonesy and Nikki decided to stay in their room and just spend some quality time together. At that moment, the gang was content, everything seemed to be going their way, The plan was set, and Nikki was back. But unknown to all of them, another trauma was on its way, lurking just around the corner.


	20. Broken

The next day dawned bright and mild, the perfect type of day for rock climbing. The gang was excited about their plans, though some more so than others. Jonesy was still unenthusiastic about the plan, as he really wanted to do something in which they all could participate, but Nikki assured him she was okay with the plan, so he kept his mouth shut. Besides, he had agreed to go and he was not in the mood to start an argument with Jen.

Jonesy and Nikki met the others in the hotel lobby at ten that morning, ready for a day of fun and excitement. The plan was to go to the restaurant across the street for a quick bite to eat and then head to the cliffs where they were going to climb. As they headed across the street, Jonesy glanced at Nikki, who smiled, not the least bit concerned about the potential for boredom the day held. They entered the restaurant and were greeted by a short woman who led them to a table. They took their seats and, a few minutes later, the woman returned to take their orders. "So, where are you guys from?" she asked, glancing at the group.

"We're from Canada." Jen answered, smiling and handing the woman her menu.

"Oh, I've never been to Canada." the woman said, returning Jen's smile. "I've always wanted to go though."

"Really?" Jonesy asked. "You really want to visit Canada?" The woman nodded. "But, it's so cold, and boring." Jonesy muttered.

"Yeah, but think of the wide open spaces, and the animals, and the hockey." the woman said. She glanced at Jonesy and said, "You should really have more respect for your country, it's one of the few good ones left." Jonesy shrugged and the woman left to place their orders.

"She's right, you know." Nikki muttered, glancing at Jonesy. "You really should show our home more respect."

"Since when did you become so patriotic?" Jonesy asked, staring at his wife.

"Since I was shot four times in the fucking chest." Nikki muttered. "Lying in that hospital for over a month gave me a lot of time to think and I realized that life is short and we need to make the most of it while it lasts. And I decided that part of living your life to the fullest is loving the country from which you come."

"I agree bra." said Jude. "I mean, it makes sense, you know? Why is it so wrong to love your country? At least we're not living in some economically disadvantaged country. Not that economically disadvantaged countries are bad or anything." He glanced at Nikki and Starr, who were both giving him dark looks.

"Yeah, okay, I guess I see your points." Jonesy conceded, with a sigh. The table was silent for a few moments before the food arrived, at which point the conversation turned to the days activities.

"So, according to the brochure, this place is one of the best rock climbing spots in all if Hawaii." said Marlowe, who, like Jen, could barely contain her excitement. This was humorous for the others, as none of them had realized that Marlowe was so in to rock climbing. They had always figured that she was just like Wyatt, interested in music and music only, but apparently she had many other interests too.

"Yeah, it sounds like it's a great place." Wyatt agreed, smiling at Marlowe.

"Well, then, let's quit talking and eat so we can get over there." Jude said, between mouthfuls of hash-browns. The others laughed and began to eat a little faster. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, the gang left the restaurant and headed to the rock climbing spot, arriving a half hour later. They were greeted by a tall, lanky man with dark, curly hair, named Troy, who was the owner of the climbing shop located at the cliffs. He also ran a climbing school in Honolulu, and he used this spot for his more advanced students.

"Aloha!" Troy said, as the gang climbed out of the car. "You all here to do some climbing?"

"You bet." said Jen, flashing a brilliant smile. It was obvious that she knew such an attractive guy owned this place and she had done everything in her power to impress him.

"Well, you came to the right place." said Troy, returning Jen's smile. "This is the best climbing spot on Oahu."

"The brochure says it's the best in Hawaii." Jonesy muttered, a disgruntled look on his face.

"We kinda bend that truth just a bit." Troy admitted. "But the reality is there are some places on Maui and the big island that are better."

"Yeah, but we're here so, this'll have to do." said Jen, with another smile. "And don't mind Jonesy, he's just a bit pissy at the moment."

Troy shrugged and turned towards his shop, motioning for the gang to follow. "So, who's going to be climbing today?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Me, Marlowe, Jonesy, Jude, Wyatt, and Starr." said Jen, pointing each of them out as she named them.

"Gee thanks, mom." said Jonesy. "We can fucking speak for ourselves, you know?"

"Jonesy, shut up." Nikki muttered. "Stop being such an ass."

Jen glared at them before Jonesy could argue, not wanting to put Troy off, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. "So, six climbers." he said. "And what about you two lovely ladies?" he asked, glancing at Nikki and Caitlin.

"I'd like to, but I just got out of the hospital, and I'm supposed to take it easy." said Nikki, with a regretful smile. Troy nodded.

"And I just don't like heights all that much." said Caitlin, with a guilty smile.

"Ah, I see." said Troy. "Well, that's alright. Climbing's not for everyone and I've long since accepted that." Caitlin smiled, glad he wasn't mad at her for admitting the truth.

"Actually, I used to be afraid of heights too." said Troy. "But it's something you get used to, you know? Anyway, let's get you all up the cliff." The gang nodded and they set about getting ready. Twenty minutes later, with the help of some of Troy's employees, Jen, Marlowe, Jude, Starr, Wyatt, and Jonesy were scaling the cliff like old pros. It was obvious that most of them had done this before, especially Starr, Jude, and Jen, who climbed faster than Troy.

An hour later, the climbers were still at it, none of them showing any sign of stopping any time soon. As expected, Nikki and Caitlin were starting to get a little bored, but they were both doing a good job of hiding just how much. On the other hand, Jonesy's attitude had vastly improved once he had gotten up on the cliff, proving that all he had really been annoyed by was the fact that Nikki couldn't climb, not the fact that they were doing something in which she could not participate.

In all, despite Jonesy's attitude and Nikki and Caitlin's boredom, everything was going according to plan. "See Jonesy, I told you we'd all be okay." Nikki shouted.

"Yeah, well, I'm still not-" his sentence was cut short by a loud crack as a chunk of the cliff on which Jen was clinging suddenly gave way, sending her plummeting towards the Earth.

"JEN!" Nikki shouted as Jen slammed into the ground, her safety rope snapping before her spotter could secure her.

"Oh God, Jen!" Caitlin shouted, running over to her, followed by Nikki. Jen lay, spread eagle, her body motionless, blood streaming from multiple wounds.

**A/N: See, I told there would be another trauma. Not quite what you were expecting, eh? Well, that's just the way I write. Anyway, just a couple of things you should be aware of, first, we're getting close to the end of this fic (6 chapters left, I think) and then, at some point, there will be a sequel. Second, I just want to point out that Jonesy's comment about Canada was a product of his mood and in no way reflects my view of the country. Since I haven't even had the chance to visit Canada, I can't actually say anything about it, which sucks, because I want to visit Canada sooooooo bad (partially because more of 6teen is availible on DVD up there). Well, that's all for now, so keep reading and enjoy.**


	21. The Gift Of Life

"Come on Jen, speak to me." Caitlin pleaded, as she knelt next to the prone form of her best friend. Only a minute or two had passed since Jen had fallen, but that minute seemed like an eternity to the others who were trying to get down the cliff as quickly as possible. Caitlin, Nikki, and Jen's spotter were gathered around her, trying to revive her, but their attempts were proving less than useful. Finally, after another minute or two, Troy hit the ground, followed quickly by Jonesy, Jude, Wyatt, Marlowe, and Starr.

Troy rushed over to Jen, a look of concern on his face. "How is she?" he asked, glancing at Caitlin, who looked terrified.

"She's not breathing." Caitlin said, pleading in her voice.

"Shit." Troy muttered. He knelt beside Jen and began to administer CPR. "Someone call 911." he said between breaths. "We need to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible."

Jonesy whipped out his phone and dialed. Within minutes of his call, paramedics arrived on the scene, moving quickly to stabilize Jen. Jonesy glanced at the paramedics and asked, "Is she going to be okay?"

The head paramedic looked at him, a grim look in his eyes. "I don't know." he replied. "Her injuries are pretty severe, but we won't know for sure until we get her back to the hospital." Jonesy nodded and moved aside so they could load Jen into the ambulance.

As the ambulance took off towards the city, Jonesy turned to the others and silently made his way to the van they had rented. Nikki glanced at him, but did not say anything. She simply followed him to the van, the others following her lead. Jonesy drove as fast as he could, his fear of losing Jen driving him forward despite the shock of what had just happened.

They arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later, Jonesy swinging the van into the first parking space he found. They burst into the hospital seconds later, heading for the front desk. The nurse behind the desk glanced up at them, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "May I help you?" she asked, watching them closely.

"Yeah, a friend of ours was just brought in and we'd like to know where she is." Jonesy replied, trying to keep his voice calm.

The nurse eyed him suspiciously for a moment before asking, "What's your friend's name?"

"Jennifer Masterson." Jonesy replied, still trying to keep his voice calm.

"Let me check." the nurse said, turning to her computer. "Ah, Jennifer Masterson." she said, after a few minutes of searching. "She was brought in a few minutes ago. She's in surgery at the moment, so you'll have to wait until she's out."

Jonesy nodded and was about to thank her when another nurse burst into the room, a frantic look on her face. Her eyes fell upon Jonesy and she yelped. "There you are." the nurse said, rushing over to them. "Where have you been, your friend needs you?"

"We were on our way here." Jonesy replied, not bothering to ask how the nurse knew they were friends with Jen. "Is Jen okay?"

The nurse looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. "No, she's not." the nurse said. "She's losing blood at an alarming rate and we can't get the bleeding to stop. That's why I was looking for you all. She needs a transfusion and we were hoping that one of you matched her blood type."

Jonesy swallowed hard at her words. This was what he had feared most. Jen needed blood and he was the only one who could help her out. For anyone else this would not have been a problem, but Jonesy had never been good with needles or blood and the thought of having to endure both made him suddenly nauseous.

"Jonesy?" Nikki asked. "Jonesy, are you okay?" She glanced at him, knowing perfectly well what his answer would be.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jonesy lied. He looked at the nurse and nodded. "Alright, take me to her. I can give her the blood she needs."

The others looked at Jonesy in surprise. "Dude, what are you doing?" Jude asked. "You know you don't do good around blood and needles."

"And I'm supposed to let that stop me from helping Jen why?" Jonesy asked. "I'm the only one of us who has the same blood type as her and whether I like it or not I will not let Jen die just because I can't stand the sight of blood."

"Alright Jonesy, we'll be there with you, just in case." said Nikki, with a small smile.

Jonesy returned her smile and turned to the nurse, who nodded and lead them to the operating room where Jen lay. "We've got a candidate." the nurse said as they entered the room. The doctor in charge of the surgery nodded and set to work hooking Jonesy up. The doctor had managed to seal Jen's wounds and stop the bleeding, but she still needed fresh blood.

Jonesy glanced at his step sister, her pale face and motionless body strengthening his resolve. He would not let Jen die, there was no way he could live with himself if he did. He glanced at the doctor and nodded. "Alright, I'm ready." The doctor nodded and began the transfusion. For a moment everything seemed to be working correctly and then Jen gave a violent jolt, her spine arching as she reacted to Jonesy's blood.

"What's happening?" Caitlin screamed. "What's wrong with her?"

"Her body is rejecting Jonesy's blood." the doctor said, his eyes wide.

"How is that possible?" Wyatt asked, his eyes darting from the doctor to Jen and back again. "They have the same blood type, why is she rejecting it?"

"I have no idea." the doctor replied, his eyes getting wider still. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Jonesy looked at Jen's twitching body, a fiery determination in his eyes. "Damn it Jen Masterson!" he shouted. "Don't you dare die on us. I know you want to live, I know you can do it, so take my fucking blood and live!"

At these words, Jen's convulsions stopped and everything returned to normal. The room was silent for several moments following this outburst and then Wyatt spoke. "What the hell was that?" he asked, glancing around the room. No one answered him, none of them quite sure of what they had just witnessed. And then, the answer came from the most unlikely of sources.

"I think you just witnessed a medical abnormality." Jen said, her eyes fluttering open and focusing on Jonesy. "Hey." she whispered, her voice horse and croaky.

"Well, I'll be damned." the doctor muttered. "Minutes ago you were dying, and now you look like your gonna be just fine, after some recovery time of course."

"So, she's gonna be okay?" Jonesy asked, glancing at the doctor.

"I'd say so." the doctor said, with a chuckle. "Don't look so surprised boy, you did a great thing today. It takes a special kind of person to give the gift of life like you did. I could see the fear in your eyes when you walked in here, but you overcame that fear and you saved a life."

Jonesy smiled and nodded. He had not noticed it at first, but the doctor was right. He had overcome one of his greatest fears and Jen was going to live because of it. He smiled to himself, glad that he could be a help. With any luck, this would be the last time he would have to do this and they could finish out their vacation in peace.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait on this. Lack of internet and all that. I will be getting back on schedual soon.**


	22. Recovery

Jen had survived her fall, and the relief that came with this knowledge was staggering. The fear the others had felt in the immediate aftermath had been worse than the fear they had felt after Nikki had been shot, but that fear had now passed. Still, the road to full recovery was a long one and Jen would be in the hospital for at least a month, much to Nikki's annoyance. Jen's injuries were extensive, and included two broken legs, a broken arm, a cracked pelvis, and minor spinal damage. Add on top of that the multiple lacerations and scrapes and the internal bleeding she had suffered, and Jen was in pretty bad shape. And yet, despite the odds, she was alive and given the time would make a full recovery.

The day after Jen's fall, the others returned to the hospital to pay her a visit. Despite their relief, they were still in a state of mild shock. Jonesy was particularly stunned, as he had still not fully grasped the fact that it had been him who had saved Jen's life. It was something he had always known he was capable of, but he had never thought he would actually have to do it, and the knowledge that he had was a little more than he could take in.

They entered Jen's room to find her awake and alert. The sight of her lying there hooked up to a battery of machines, her body encased in casts was startling and a bit disconcerting, but at least she was awake. Jen smiled at them as they entered, glad to have them with her. Her eyes scanned the group, coming to rest upon Nikki who wore an uncomfortable look on her face. Jen's smile widened in reassurance as she knew how hard it was for Nikki to be back here, considering how much she hated hospitals. Still, Jen could tell Nikki was trying her best to keep her discomfort hidden and she appreciated the gesture.

"Hey Jen, how's it going?" Caitlin asked, once they were all settled.

"Pretty good, considering." Jen replied, with another reassuring smile. "How're all of you?"

"I think Jonesy's still in shock, but otherwise we're good." said Nikki, with a glance at her husband, who was staring at Jen with a look of wonder.

"Jonesy?" Jen asked, her voice concerned. "Jonesy, is everything okay?"

Jonesy looked at her and blinked, her voice bringing him back to reality. "Yeah, everything is great." he answered. "I just can't believe I actually had to do it, that's all."

"Actually had to do what?" Nikki asked, confused.

"Save the life of one of my friends." Jonesy replied. "I always knew I was capable of doing it, you know? I just never imagined that I actually would have to."

"Well that's... actually I don't really know what that is." said Wyatt. "But now that I think about it, I've always known I'd be able to help any of you out in a crisis too."

"I think that's something we all know." said Marlowe, with a glance at Wyatt.

"It makes sense." said Jude. "I mean, we're all friends right? Why wouldn't we all know what we would do for each other? Most of us have known each other since kindergarten, it's only logical we would have developed such strong bonds."

"And once again Jude manages to take a simple concept and turn it into some deep, philosophical speech." said Jonesy.

"That wasn't that philosophical bro." said Jude, with a grin. "It wasn't that deep, either."

"Yeah, well you know what I meant." said Jonesy, with a grin of his own.

"So, what are you guys gonna do while I'm stuck in here?" Jen asked, with another glance around the room.

"Well, we'll come an visit you everyday, for starters." said Nikki. "As far as what else, I'm not really sure."

Jen nodded. "Did anyone call my mom?" she asked.

"Yeah, I called her last night." said Nikki. "I feel really bad because she can't make it down here to see you, even though she was able to make it here for me."

"Don't worry about it Nik." said Jen. "I understand that my mom is busy and she and the others can't keep running down here every time one of us gets hurt." She smiled and Nikki smiled back, relieved that Jen wasn't mad.

"Well, we should probably get going so you can rest." said Wyatt. "We'll see you-" A sudden gasp of pain cut him short and he spun to find the source of the noise. Jen was leaning forward, her unbroken left arm pressed tight against her stomach.

"Jen, are you okay?" Nikki asked, moving to Jen's side.

"Don't know." Jen gasped. "Something hurts, feels like-" Her words cut off as she vomited over the side of the bed, the vomit stained red with blood.

"Oh God, not again." Jonesy shouted, staring at Jen in horror. Wyatt glanced at him and then tore from the room, returning moments later with a doctor and a pair of nurses. The doctor scanned the room quickly and motioned to the nurses, who moved to Jen's side. After a quick evaluation, the doctor moved Jen from the room, taking her directly to surgery. The gang stared in horror after them, wondering what had happened now.

Several hours later, Jen was brought back from surgery her body now encased in even more bandaging. She did not look good, her face was pale and she was now breathing with the aid of an oxygen mask. Nikki approached the doctor, concern on her face. "What happened?" she asked. "Is Jen going to be okay?"

The doctor looked at her, a grave look on his face. "Her appendix ruptured." he replied. "Apparently the damage to her internal organs was greater than previously believed and her appendix suffered greater damage than most. We were able to remove it, but some of the bile got into her lungs and we don't have a way to get it out. At this point, it's hard to say if she'll make it or not."

Nikki stared at the doctor for a moment, too shocked to speak. Her mind did not seem to want to process what she had just heard, it could not possibly be real. Only hours earlier, Jen had been fine and now there was no way to know if she would live. It was too much for Nikki to handle and she turned and ran from the hospital, tears beginning to fall. Jonesy followed her, catching up with her halfway across the parking lot. "Nikki, what's wrong?" he asked.

"They say Jen might not make it." Nikki replied, fighting to hold back the tears. "Her appendix burst and some of the bile got into her lungs. They have no way to get it out and she may not make it. Jonesy, I... I'm afraid Jen's going to die."

"Shhh, Nikki it's going to be okay." Jonesy whispered, holding her close. "Jen will be okay, you'll see. She'll pull through this, just like you did. I promise."

Nikki sniffed and smiled. Jonesy was right, everything would work out. But even as she thought this, Jonesy knew there was no way to keep his promise.

Two days later, after much worry and stress, the gang finally got some good news. Jen was finally awake and despite early assumptions she was doing quite well. The gang made their way back to the hospital once again, this time hopeful that nothing would go wrong. Jen greeted them with a smile and they were glad to see she was in high spirits, but they knew she was a long way off from a full recovery. Still, they were glad she was on the mend and they were looking forward to putting this ordeal behind them. In the days that followed, as Jen began to recover, the gang began to live in relief once again. But there was one among them who was not so content and her disgruntlement would ultimately threaten to rip the group apart.


	23. Fighting For Love

As Jen progressed in her recovery, the gang began to spend less time at the hospital, using the time to enjoy other endeavors. They still stopped by every day, but they did not spend the entire day there, much to Nikki's relief. Jen seemed content with this pattern, assuring the others that she was okay with them doing things without her. Still, there was one among them who felt that Jen should not be alone in such a fragile state. Wyatt had begun spending more and more time at the hospital keeping Jen company, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was ignoring Marlowe. However this fact did not escape her notice, or that of the others. Finally, nearly two weeks after Jen's appendectomy Jude and Jonesy decided to confront Wyatt about the issue.

"Yo Wyatt, can we talk to you for a sec?" Jonesy asked, he and Jude cornering Wyatt in the lobby of the hotel.

"Yeah sure." Wyatt replied, glancing at them suspiciously. "Can we make it quick though. I was just about to head over to the hospital to keep Jen company for a while."

"Actually that's kinda what we wanted to talk to you about bro." said Jude, with a guilty smile. Wyatt stared at him for a moment, his suspicions growing.

"Alright, what do you guys want?" he finally asked, after a prolonged silence.

"Well, we-" Jonesy began. He paused, not sure how he should continue. He took a deep breath and looked Wyatt directly in the eye. "Wyatt, you've been spending a lot of time at the hospital and it's beginning to worry us."

"Worry you?" Wyatt asked. "Why the hell should it worry you? I'm only keeping Jen company, what's wrong with that?"

"Well, technically nothing, but you've been ignoring Marlowe and we all know that can't end well for anyone." said Jonesy.

Wyatt looked at him, confused for a moment, before realization hit him. "Did Marlowe send you two to talk to me?" he asked, his anger beginning to rise. "Because we've already talked about this and she understands."

"Then why did she tell us she wishes you'd stop going to the hospital twice a day and spend more time with her?" Jonesy challenged.

"I have no idea." Wyatt snapped. "I can't read her fucking mind."

"C'mon Wyatt, tell us the truth." said Jude. "You haven't really talked to Marlowe, have you?" Wyatt shook his head.

"Ha, I knew it." said Jonesy. "You always were a shitty lier."

"Why are you doing this man?" Jude asked. "Marlowe's your girlfriend, why are you hurting her like this? After all the times you've experienced heartbreak, I'd think you would be a little more sensitive bro."

"Yeah, I know." Wyatt sighed, his shoulders sagging. "But what about Jen? She shouldn't have to sit up in that hospital room all alone."

"Wyatt, she's got all of us to keep her company man, you don't have to shoulder the burden all by yourself." said Jonesy, struggling to keep himself from shouting.

"Yeah, but none of you are." Wyatt countered. "I'm up there every day because the rest of you are out doing God only knows what else."

"Dude, we're in fucking Hawaii." Jonesy shouted, unable to keep himself in check any longer. "What do you want us to do, spend the whole time we're here in a fucking hospital and just ignore everything else? We already did that for Nikki, why should we all have to do it for Jen too?"

"BECAUSE SHE'S YOUR FUCKING FRIEND TOO!" Wyatt bellowed, his anger getting the better of him as well.

Jonesy and Jude froze, staring at Wyatt like they had never seen him before. They had never seen Wyatt explode like that, and it took them by surprise. Wyatt stood, glaring at them, his chest heaving, anger coursing through his veins.

"Okay." said Jude, after a tense moment of silence. "It's obvious we can't force you to hang out more with Marlowe, but at least talk to her dude. Because if you don't, this thing's just gonna get worse and nobody wants that."

Wyatt nodded and left the room. He made his way to the hospital, muttering to himself the whole way. He arrived to find Jen watching TV, but she flicked it off as he entered. She smiled at him, but he did not return the gesture.

"Wyatt, is something wrong?" Jen asked, eying him with concern.

Wyatt sighed, not sure if he wanted to answer. He glanced at Jen, who was watching him intently, and sighed again, deciding it was best to be honest. "Marlowe's upset because I'm spending so much time here and Jonesy and Jude just confronted me about it." he muttered.

"What did they say?" Jen asked, though she was fairly certain she already knew.

"They said I should stop shouldering the burden of keeping you company by myself and spend more time with Marlowe." Wyatt replied. "But I think they're wrong. No one else is keeping you company and it's not right for the rest of us to have fun while you're stuck here."

Jen smiled, appreciating his concern, and then she spoke. "Well, I have to say I agree with them." she said. "I mean, I appreciate your concern Wyatt, but you can't ignore Marlowe just because you think I need company. I'm fine here on my own and the others do visit. Now, go talk to Marlowe and save your relationship."

Wyatt looked at her for a long moment, before reluctantly nodding. "Okay, I'll go talk to her, but I'm not sure what good it will do."

"Well, it can't hurt, right?" said Jen, with a reassuring smile. Wyatt nodded again and headed back to the hotel, hoping to find Marlowe before it was too late.

Later that day, Wyatt found Marlowe in their room, aimlessly flipping through the TV channels. She did not look at him as he entered, her eyes tightening as she focused on the TV.

Wyatt sat on the foot of the bed and for a moment there was only the sound of the TV. Finally, Wyatt looked at Marlowe and sighed. "Marlowe, we need to talk." he said, trying his best to keep his voice level. Marlowe continued to stare at the TV, pretending she couldn't hear him.

"Come on Marlowe, please talk to me." Wyatt said, a note of pleading in his voice.

"Talk to you about what?" Marlowe snapped, still not looking at him.

"I know you've been pissed about all the time I've been spending at the hospital, but I have my reasons." said Wyatt, trying not to sound confrontational.

"And these reasons, you figure they're more important than spending time with me?" Marlowe spat, finally looking at him, her eyes blazing.

"No, Marlowe, I don't." Wyatt answered. "It's just, I don't think Jen should be alone."

"And why can't the others keep her company sometimes?" Marlowe asked, her blazing eyes now boring into his. "Is it because you want her all to yourself?"

Wyatt stared at her for a moment, shocked that she would jump to that conclusion. Was Marlowe really that jealous, that she would assume something like that? "You...you think I'm cheating on you with Jen?" Wyatt asked.

"Well, are you?" Marlowe asked, her voice raising slightly.

"No, of course not!" Wyatt said, almost shouting. "Marlowe, I love you, only you."

"Then why are you spending so much time with Jen?" Marlowe asked, her voice cracking.

"Because she's my friend and she's in the hospital and she shouldn't be alone." Wyatt said, struggling to keep himself in check. "I've already told you that, but it doesn't mean I love her. You're still the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Yeah." Marlowe said, her expression softening. "I know that, but I'm not sure if that's the path we're supposed to walk anymore."

Wyatt stared at her again, his brain trying to wrap itself around what she had just said. After a moment his brain seemed to kick back on and he processed the deeper meaning of her words. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked, his voice hollow.

Marlowe smiled at him, but did not answer. "Marlowe, are you breaking up with me?" Wyatt asked, trying to get her meaning again.

"I don't know Wyatt." Marlowe finally answered. "I need some time to think about it." She smiled at him again. Then, before he could speak again, she kissed him on the forehead and headed from the room, leaving Wyatt in silence.

**A/N: Ah, I know, I know, I'm such an asshole. But like I've always said, stories need termoil to be interesting, and this works about as well as killing someone off, which you may have noticed, I'm not doing in this fic. (That comes in the sequel). Makes you wonder though, doesn't it? Did I put Wyatt and Marlowe back together at the beginning of this fic for this express reason, or was this something I just thought of in the process of writing? Well, that's for me to know and you to decide on your own. Until next time kids, this has been Kamari Turen saying "Fan Fiction is God, so keep on writing." Peace!**


	24. The End Of The Line

Hours later, Wyatt sat staring blankly at the wall, his mind still trying to digest what Marlowe had said. He still could not understand what she had meant when she said they weren't meant to follow the path they were on anymore. He had no idea what he had done to make her think such a thing. Sure, he had been spending more time with Jen than was absolutely necessary, but Wyatt had never thought that it would upset Marlowe. Was she really that jealous? Wyatt had never known Marlowe to be jealous about anything before, so what was it about this situation that was different? Had he really hurt her that badly, that she was willing to do the one thing they had promised they would never do when they had gotten back together? Wyatt had no answers, but he was sure he would find out, one way or another. He was less certain he wanted to know the answers however. Just then there was a knock at the door, drawing Wyatt out of his thoughts.

"It's open." he muttered, not bothering to ask who was on the other side.

The door opened and Caitlin poked her head in, her brilliant green eyes full of concern. "Wyatt?" she asked. "Are you alright? No one's heard from you in, like, four hours."

Wyatt glanced at her, his pain and confusion easy for her to read on his face. "I'm just-" He paused, not sure how to tell her what had happened. "Everything's fine Cait."

Caitlin looked at him for a moment, trying to decern his true emotions, but she ultimately decided he was being honest. She made her way over to the bed and sat down beside him, a hint of concern still present in her gaze. For several minutes they sat in silence, Wyatt staring at the wall and Caitlin watching him intently. Finally, when she could stand the silence no longer, Caitlin caved, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Alright, what's wrong Wyatt?" she asked, looking him in the eye.

"I told you, nothing's wrong." Wyatt muttered, not looking at her.

"Come on Wyatt, I'm not stupid." Caitlin said. "I can tell something is bothering you, so why not tell me what it is? Maybe I can help."

Wyatt looked at her a moment, still not sure he wanted to reveal what was on his mind, but he could see Caitlin was not going to let it go so he decided to be straight with her. "I think Marlowe broke up with me." he muttered, his eyes fixed on the floor.

Caitlin stared at him for a moment, her brain frozen in shock. "Did you just say Marlowe broke up with you?" she asked, her brain finally kicking back on. Wyatt nodded.

"But-but why?" Caitlin asked, her mind still trying to understand the situation.

"I have no idea." Wyatt replied. "Mind you, I'm still not completely certain she actually has broken up with me, but it sounded like she wanted to."

"This doesn't have anything to do with you and Jen, does it?" Caitlin asked, suddenly aware of Marlowe's possible reasoning. "Because Jonesy and Jude were supposed to talk to you about that."

"They did, and so did Jen." said Wyatt, still not looking at her. "But I don't think that's it. Or at least that's not the only issue. But I can't figure out what else I could have done to make her consider that. I haven't been this confused since I first met her."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." said Caitlin. "You have to talk to her. Only Marlowe can tell you what the problem is."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I even want to know the answer." said Wyatt.

"Unfortunately, not knowing the answer doesn't help you save your relationship." said Caitlin, trying not to sound pushy. "So, call Marlowe and talk to her. I'll be here for you if things go bad." She smiled and Wyatt nodded. With that he pulled out his phone and dialed Marlowe's number, reaching her on the third ring.

"Hello?" Marlowe's voice answered. "Wyatt?"

"Yeah, it's me." Wyatt answered. "Look, could we meet somewhere so we can talk?"

"Uh, now's not really a good time Wyatt." Marlowe replied. "I'm a little busy right now."

"Oh, well, could we meet later then?" Wyatt asked. "We really need to talk, I don't want to leave our last conversation hanging."

"Yeah, sure." Marlowe replied. "I'll call you later then." She hung up and Wyatt turned to Caitlin, his look both confused and worried.

"Well, what did she say?" Caitlin asked, though, based on Wyatt's reaction she was pretty sure she already knew.

"She said she was busy." Wyatt replied. "Said we would talk later. I wonder what she's doing." His expression grew more worried as the possibilities flashed through his mind.

"I don't know Wyatt." Caitlin said, her expression concerned again. "I'll be right back, just thought of something." With that, she ran from the room, leaving Wyatt to wonder she was doing.

A short time later, Caitlin had gathered Nikki, Jonesy, Jude, and Starr in Jen's hospital room to fill them in on the recent developments between Wyatt and Marlowe. The others were just as surprised as she had been, but they were not as certain about getting involved as she was.

"I told him." Jonesy said, shaking his head. "I fucking told him this would happen. But did he listen, no, not Wyatt. Why would he listen to my advice now, after all the times he ignored it when we were in high school?"

"Jonesy shut up." Nikki snapped. "Wyatt has a real problem here and he didn't listen to your advice in high school because he isn't an idiot."

Jonesy opened his mouth to argue, but Caitlin beat him to the punch. "Look, can we not discuss this right now?" she asked. "We have more important things to talk about, like how we're gonna help Wyatt and Marlowe save their relationship."

"Caitlin, I'm not sure we should get involved." said Jen, with a glance at the blond. "I mean, yes, Wyatt and Marlowe are our friends, but I don't see how getting involved can help. They need to work this thing out on their own and accept whatever outcome they need."

"Even if that outcome destroys their relationship?" Caitlin asked, struggling to keep her voice level. Jen nodded.

"I gotta say Cait, I kinda agree with Jen on this one bra." said Jude. "It's not really our place to stick our noses in this, you know? I mean, how do we know we wouldn't just make things worse."

"I'm still not even completely sure what the problem is." Starr said, glancing at Jude.

"Marlowe is upset with Wyatt because he's been spending so much time with Jen, but we think their might be other issues as well." Jude replied. Starr gave an understanding nod and glanced out the window, as if she was expecting someone to be listening in on their conversation.

"Well, I think we should at least try to help them out." said Caitlin, glancing around the room to no avail.

"Sorry Cait, but you're outvoted." said Nikki. "We let them work this out on their own." Caitlin sighed, but did not argue, she knew when she was defeated.

Back at the hotel, Wyatt sat waiting for Caitlin to return. He was beginning to get irritated and was about to call her when she entered his room, followed by Jonesy, Nikki, Jude, and Starr. Wyatt looked at his friends, confused as to why Caitlin had brought them. "What are all of you doing here?" he asked, looking at Caitlin.

"Just popping in to say hi." said Jonesy, with a guilty smile.

Wyatt looked at him, not convinced, but just as he opened his mouth to question Jonesy's true motivations the door opened and Marlowe walked in, followed by Troy, their friend from the cliffs. Marlowe and Troy froze at the sight of the others, both of them staring at Wyatt. Wyatt stared back at them, his eyes wide in shock. "What-what, Marlowe why is Troy with you?" he spluttered, after an eternity of silence.

Marlowe looked at him, not sure how to answer, but she didn't have to, the answer was plain for all to see. "They're together, as a couple." Jonesy muttered, not looking at them or at Wyatt.

"Marlowe, is that true?" Wyatt asked. "Is that why you wanted to break up with me?"

"Not at first." Marlowe answered. "I didn't intend to leave you for Troy, but when I left earlier, I went to a cafe downtown and I just ran into him. We got to talking and it just happened."

"Like hell it did." Jonesy muttered. "Nobody falls in love that fast. Wyatt don't listen to this bullshit, she's been seeing him for weeks, ever since the day we went to his shitty rock climbing spot." Wyatt glanced at Jonesy and then back at Marlowe. The others followed his glance, all of them wondering if Jonesy's words were true.

"Marlowe, is Jonesy right?" Caitlin asked. "Have you been cheating on Wyatt with Troy?"

"Yes, I have." Marlowe admitted, after a moment of silence.

"Well, that's unexpected." said Troy. "I thought she'd told you all already."

"Would you shut up." Wyatt snapped. "Who the hell are you anyway? Some fucking island bum, who likes to steal tourists girlfriends, is that it? Marlowe, why, why are you with this guy?"

"Because our path has reached the end of the line." Marlowe replied, looking him in the eye. "It's nothing against you Wyatt, I still love you, I always will, but I just don't see a future for us anymore. I'm sorry for doing this and I hope you find love again, but we're done. I'm with Troy now and I won't be coming home with you. I'll see you all around, have a safe trip home." With that, she and Troy left, leaving the others in a stunned silence. Wyatt stared at the spot where she had stood, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized his relationship was over. And at that moment, Wyatt felt like his world was collapsing around him, again.


	25. Paradise Lost

It had been a dream, a horrible, terrifying nightmare and Wyatt could not wait to tell Marlowe about it, knowing she would laugh at his absurd fears. But as Wyatt rolled over in bed he remembered that Marlowe wasn't there. It had all been real, Marlowe was gone and he was alone. Wyatt had never believed he could feel pain like he did now, but he had been wrong. Heartbreak was nothing new to him, he had more than his fair share of breakups in his life and this was not the first time he had been dumped by Marlowe. But they had made a promise when they had gotten back together, that they would never again inflict that kind of pain on one another. Unfortunately, that promise had not held up and Marlowe had done the one thing they had promised never to do. Wyatt could not honestly say he was totally surprised, somehow he had always known this would happen. He had just never expected it to happen the way it had.

Three days after the breakup, Wyatt was still locked up in his room, refusing to speak with anyone. The others had given him his space, but Jonesy was beginning to get fed up with Wyatt's attitude. "Alright, that's it!" he shouted, throwing down the book he was reading. "I'm going to go talk to Wyatt."

"Jonesy, he wants to be left alone." said Nikki, glancing at her husband. "Barging in on him isn't going to put him a talking mood."

"You think that matters?" Jonesy asked. "Wyatt is our friend and I will not just sit by and watch while he beats himself up over this." With that, he turned and headed for Wyatt's room, the others quickly following behind.

Jonesy stopped up short upon reaching Wyatt's room and pounded on the door. "Wyatt, it's Jonesy." Jonesy called. "I know you're in there."

"Go away!" Wyatt shouted from the other side of the door.

"No." Jonesy bellowed back. "I've had enough of this shit Wyatt. You need to quit wallowing in your sorrow and let Marlowe go."

"Fuck you." Wyatt shouted, his voice closer this time. "I don't have to do anything. Now leave me alone."

"Wyatt, please let us in." Nikki pleaded, her voice much calmer than Jonesy's. "You shouldn't be alone right now and you know it. Let us in, we just want to talk. No one is going to judge you or make snide comments." She cast a dark look at Jonesy, who shrugged.

Wyatt opened the door and looked at Nikki, his pain easy to read on his face. "There's nothing to talk about." he said.

"Come on Wyatt, we all know that's not true." said Jude. "At least let us spend a little time with you. We haven't seen you in three days, dude."

Wyatt looked at him and sighed. "Alright fine." he muttered. "Come in, but I'm not going to talk about it." Jude nodded and Wyatt stood aside to let them in. Once they were all in, Wyatt closed the door and made his way over to the bed, which he collapsed on to without looking at the others.

For several minutes they sat in silence until the depressing atmosphere became too much for Jonesy to handle. "Okay, enough of this." he said, looking directly at Wyatt. "I know how much Marlowe meant to you dude, but you've got to let her go. There are other fish in the sea and quite frankly I didn't think she was a good match for you anyway."

Wyatt sat up at these words, his eyes blazing. "You don't think Marlowe was right for me?" he asked, his voice growing louder with each word. "How can you even say that? What the fuck do you even know about real relationships? What Marlowe and I had was real and you have no idea how I feel right now, you bastard."

"What do I know about relationships?" Jonesy asked. "Are you fucking blind? I'm married you fucking idiot, I know more about relationships than you ever will. And incidentally, I know exactly how you feel right now, I nearly lost Nikki for good, remember?"

"Yeah, but you didn't and she's still here." Wyatt shot back. "Marlowe's gone for good, I'll never get her back."

"Wyatt you can't know that." said Starr. "You have no way of knowing what Marlowe will do with her future. She could come back to you, but if she doesn't you just have to accept that. Some relationships just aren't meant to be."

Wyatt stared at her, unsure how to respond to her observation. On the one hand, he wanted to scream at her too, and tell her she was wrong. But, on the other hand, some part of him knew she was right. There was a chance he could someday get Marlowe back. The only question was, if that day came, would he be able to trust her after what happened this time? And even if he was able to trust her, would they be able to mend the burnt bridges? Wyatt had no answers, and it didn't matter at the moment. He sighed and looked at Jonesy. "Alright, I'm sorry for being an asshole." he said. "Starr's right, I just have to let this go and move on."

"That's what I've been trying to say." said Jonesy. "But, I accept your apology and I'm sorry too. I know how much you loved her and wish things had turned out differently."

"Thanks Jonesy." said Wyatt, the faint hints of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"No problem." said Jonesy, with a grin. "Now, let's get out there and have some fun." Wyatt nodded and they headed for the door.

Just then, Nikki's phone rang, making them all freeze. Nikki answered and after a quick conversation, she turned to the others, a smile on her face.

"Who was it bra?" Jude asked, slightly taken aback by Nikki's grin.

"That was Caitlin." Nikki replied. "She said Jen is ready to leave the hospital."

"Hey, that's great." said Wyatt. "Let's get over to the hospital." The others agreed and they headed over to see Jen.

A short time later, they arrived at the hospital to find Jen sitting in a wheelchair, talking with Caitlin. The two of them grinned as the others entered the room and Jen gave them a thumbs up.

"So, they're letting you out huh?" said Jonesy, a smile crossing his face.

"Don't sound so disappointed Jonesy." said Jen, with a chuckle. "Yeah, the doctors figure I've recovered enough to get out of here."

"Well I think it's great they're letting you out." said Wyatt. "Because, quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of Hawaii and we can't head home until we have everyone."

"What about Marlowe?" Jen asked, before anyone could stop her.

Wyatt looked at her and shrugged. "Marlowe and I are no longer together." he replied.

Jen looked at him, sorrow in her eyes. "Wyatt, I'm sorry-" she began, but Wyatt cut her off.

"Don't worry about it Jen." he said. "What's done is done. I can't control Marlowe. She made her decision and I just have to accept that." Jen continued to stare at him for a moment, before letting the issue drop. She could tell that he was not being completely honest about how he truly felt about the situation, but she did not want to press the issue.

"I have to say, I agree with Wyatt." said Nikki, after a brief pause. "I'm kinda ready to go home too. Hawaii has been fun, but I want something familiar." Jude, Starr, and Caitlin nodded in agreement. Jonesy sighed, and reluctantly agreed as well. It was obvious he wanted to stay longer, but he was not in the mood for another argument, so he kept his mouth shut.

Two days later, the gang found themselves sitting on plane waiting for takeoff. They had spent their last day in Hawaii on the beach watching the surfers and reminiscing about their time on the islands. But the adventure was over and they were about to head home. Wyatt seemed to be the most excited by this and it was not difficult to figure out why. As the plane lurched forward, heading for the runway, Wyatt caught a glimpse of Marlowe and Troy out of his window. Marlowe waved and Troy nodded, but Wyatt ignored them, not wanting their faces to be the last thing he remembered from Hawaii. All things considered it had been a fun trip to paradise, but as the plane lifted off the ground Wyatt could not help thinking it was a paradise they had lost.

**A/N: Well, I don't really know what to say about this one other than I probably could have written it a bit better. Anyway, we are at the end of this fic my friends. I have one last chapter to post, which I hope to do by the end of this week, and that'll be that. I hope you've enjoyed reading this fic as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Oh, and just so you know, there will be a sequel at some point, though I'm not sure when. I got a lot of other fics to catch up on, but I'll keep you posted.**


	26. A Place Called Home

The day after returning home the gang met at their old hangout in the mall. It had been less than twenty-four hours since they had last seen each other and Jen was supposed to be taking it easy, but they had much to discuss and none of them could wait. At the top of the list was how to move on from Wyatt's breakup with Marlowe, a topic he was not particularly keen on discussing. There were also plans for the future to be made and a secret announcement Jude and Starr had been keeping hidden from the others for weeks to reveal. And so, despite being exhausted from the flight home and doctors orders, the gang met to get everything out on the table.

"So, I think it's fair to say that trip didn't go quite as well as we hoped." said Jonesy, as he took his seat beside Nikki.

"Gee, what tipped you off?" Wyatt asked, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Was it the fact that Nikki got shot, or Jen's accident, or-" He stopped, not wanting to say the words that were about to escape his mouth.

"It was kind of a combination of all three, actually." said Jonesy. "And you don't have to be an asshole dude, I was just making an observation."

Wyatt didn't respond, choosing to sip on his coffee instead. It was obvious to all of them that, despite their previous discussions and Wyatt's assurances that he had let the issue go, he was still in pain regarding the breakup. It was also plain to see that he did not want to discuss the matter further and that it would take him some time to get over it. Still, Jen was not about to let the issue die without some sort of true resolution, especially since she felt personally responsible for the split.

"Wyatt?" Jen asked, tentatively. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I think we should. You need some kind of resolution before you can move on."

"Oh for fuck's sake Jen." Jonesy groaned. "Do we really have to do this again? Wyatt obviously doesn't want to talk about it so why are you so intent on making him?"

"Why aren't you?" Jen shot back. "Wyatt is our friend and he needs our moral support."

"Yeah okay, that may be true, but it's not really our place to get involved." Jonesy retorted. "This issue is between Wyatt and Marlowe, and since she's still in fucking Hawaii I don't see why we have to keep opening the wound."

"That's nice." Jen muttered. "Wasn't it you who wanted to get involved just three days ago? Or was Nikki lying to me when she told me about the confrontation at the hotel?"

Jonesy shot a dark glance at Nikki before turning his glare back to Jen. "What happened at the hotel is irrelevant." he growled. "Wyatt and I already patched that up and you weren't even there, so keep your mouth shut." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. "Why do you think you need to be involved in Wyatt's business Jen?" he asked again, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Because it's my fault they broke up." Jen whispered, after a brief pause. The others stared at her, Jonesy dumbfounded by her response. Wyatt's eyes were wide with shock, this was not the answer he had been expecting either. He had had no idea Jen felt guilty, the thought had never even crossed his mind. True, there had been some speculation that it was because he spent so much time with Jen while she was in the hospital that had made Marlowe jealous. But those speculations had been shot down when Jonesy had revealed Marlowe had been seeing Troy before Wyatt began spending so much time with Jen.

"Jen, no." Wyatt said, looking her in the eyes. "I don't blame you for what happened. Me and Marlowe we...we just weren't meant to be, that's all. It's not your fault."

"But you were." Jen said, fighting to hold back tears. "You were meant to be together and I ruined it all. If I hadn't gotten injured, you wouldn't have spent so much time with me and you and Marlowe would still be a couple."

"Jen listen to me." said Wyatt, pulling her closer. "None of what happened can be blamed on you. You did nothing to force Marlowe and I apart. I made a decision to spend time with you and Marlowe made a decision to spend time with Troy. You had nothing to do with either and I will never place the blame for this on your shoulders. If you did anything, it was to try and help us save our relationship, but fate had other plans for us. I am at peace with what happened and I want you to be at peace too. You say I need some kind of resolution before I can move on from this, but I can't find that resolution if you're punishing yourself for something you didn't do. If you want me to let it go, then you have to too. It's the only way."

Jen looked at him and smiled through the tears that had begun to fall during his speech. "Thank you Wyatt." she whispered. "Thank you for being such a great friend."

Wyatt smiled and nodded. "Any time." he said. He glanced at the others, who all wore smiles as well. Wyatt was not certain, but it felt like something had changed in that moment and that, despite his recent pain he had found a way to heal. And then, without really knowing what he was doing, he was kissing Jen while Jonesy and Jude cheered him on.

"God, can't you two get a room?" a voice called out. Wyatt and Jen abruptly broke apart and glanced over to see Wayne approaching the table, followed closely by Ron, Darth, Julie, Coach Halder, and the Clones.

"What do you want Wayne?" Jonesy asked, rolling his eyes.

"Heard you guys were back in town and I wanted to say hi." said Wayne. "You don't have to be an asshat Jonesy."

"Well, I'm glad you stopped by." said Caitlin. "It's been too long since the last time we saw you. Also, it was under slightly more tense circumstances that we last met."

"Yeah, speaking of that, it's good to see you on your feet again Nikki." said Darth.

"Yeah, I'm just glad to be out of that damn hospital." said Nikki, with a grin. "And I agree with Cait, it's good to see all of you again."

"Yeah, I forget how much more fun this mall is with the six of you in it." said Coach Halder. "By the way, we heard about your accident Jen. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good." said Jen, with a smile. "It was a little tense there for awhile, as these guys can all tell you, but I'm doing good."

"That's good to hear." said Ron. "Like we all said after Nikki was shot, this world would be a lot colder without any of you in it." Jen smiled again and Ron returned the gesture. It really was amazing how much had changed in six years. Back when they were teens, the gang would never have gotten this much concern from Ron, but now that they were adults it seemed that he really had cared about them all along.

Jen was brought out of her thoughts by a sudden burst of giggling. She turned to find the source of the commotion, and, following the gaze of the others, found Jude and Starr had moved to a different table and seemed to be engaged in some sort of humorous conversation.

"Alright, what are you two giggling about over there?" Nikki asked, casting the pair a suspicious glance.

"Uh, well, I'm not really sure how to say this bra." Jude began. "It's kind of hard, but I guess the only way to say it is-" he paused.

"We're getting married!" Starr trilled, finishing Jude's sentence.

"Yeah, that." Jude muttered, with a guilty glance at the floor.

"Jude, you sly dog you." Jonesy shouted. "Congratulations dude! When did you make this decision?"

"When we were still in Hawaii." Jude replied. "It was just after Nikki woke up. We decided that life was too short and if we were going to do it, we might as well do it soon, you know?"

"Yeah, we know." said Jonesy. "Well, I guess we have another wedding to plan for. I just hope their honeymoon goes better than mine and Nikki's." Nikki slugged him in the shoulder and grinned. Jonesy glanced at her and returned her grin.

"Okay, so we got all that settled." said Nikki. "Jude and Starr are getting married, Jen and Wyatt are...well, we'll see and me and Jonesy have got to go."

"We do?" Jonesy asked, with a confused look.

"Yes." Nikki replied. "We have urgent business to attend to at home."

Jonesy continued to look confused for a moment and then understanding hit him. "Oh." he said. "That kind of urgent business. Uh, yeah, we gotta go." The others laughed at Jonesy's reaction and nodded.

"Well, we should probably get back to work." said Coach Halder, with a glance at Ron, who nodded, as did Wayne, the Clones, and Darth and Julie.

"It was good to see you all again." said Julie. "See you around."

"Yeah, see you later Julie." said Wyatt, nodding. He glanced at Jen and Caitlin, who both smiled and stood.

"I think I'll be going too." said Caitlin. "Got some stuff to take care of over at the salon."

"Yeah, and we uh, gotta go do something." said Jude, taking Starr in his arms with a grin.

Jen chuckled at them and glanced at Wyatt. "I got some stuff to do at home, you wanna come?" she asked, their eyes meeting for half a second.

"No, I think I'm gonna hang here for a while." said Wyatt. "But I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Sounds good to me." said Jen, leaning in to kiss him again. "See you later Wyatt." With that, she and the others left, heading off in their own directions. As Wyatt watched them go he reflected back over the last few weeks and sighed. It had been a tumultuous roller coaster ride and he was glad it was over. As he looked out at his future, which seemed to now include Jen, he knew everything was going to be okay. He smiled and took a sip of his coffee, glad to be in place that was familiar, a place he called home.

**A/N: And that, folks, is the end of this fic (yay, my first completed fic on the site!). Thank you to all of you who read this fic, with a special thanks to Mercs2Girl for her reviews. As with TDI, this is not the end of the story. There will be a sequel at some point, though I'm not sure when, as I have several other fics that demans my attention right now. I'll post on my profile when the sequel can be expected. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.**


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